Sierra Club Statement on FERC Decision Rejecting Centralia Coal Plant Cost-Recovery Plan

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission just rejected TransAlta’s proposed cost-recovery plan for the Centralia coal plant, an important step toward protecting Northwest ratepayers from the Trump administration’s costly and unlawful effort to prop up the retired coal plant. The cost recovery filing was for money that TransAlta spent to keep the Centralia facility operating after the Trump administration issued its 202(c) emergency order in December 2025 at the Centralia facility, when the facility was scheduled to retire.

The Trump administration has repeatedly forced Centralia to remain available after its planned retirement, despite the plant not being called on to generate electricity under the emergency orders. The most recent order was issued on September 11, 2026–the fourth of this kind that Centralia has received–requiring the facility to remain operational through December of this year. To date, the Centralia has not run once since the first 202(c) order was received last year.

Sierra Club and its partners have challenged the Trump administration’s emergency orders keeping Centralia open, arguing that DOE has unlawfully stretched its emergency authority to override Washington’s long-planned energy transition.

In response to FERC’s decision, Sierra Club Washington State Director Ben Avery released the following statement:

“FERC is right to reject this attempt to make consumers foot the bill for the Trump administration’s costly coal bailout in Washington. Centralia was slated for retirement, yet the administration has illegally forced it to keep running, racking up more than $50 million in costs with little to show for it. Northwest families should not have to pay for keeping an aging, uneconomic coal plant on life support. We applaud FERC for standing up for ratepayers and will continue fighting this reckless abuse of emergency authority.”