Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Friday she intends to seek a rehearing with the U.S. Department of Energy over what she called an “arbitrary and illegal” order requiring continued operation of a West Michigan coal plant beyond its scheduled retirement.

The department’s latest order, filed this week, directs Consumers Energy to keep the J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in West Olive operating until May 18, 2026. That’s nearly a year past its previous retirement date of May 31, 2025, which had been approved by state regulators with the Michigan Public Service Commission after what officials described as an extensive planning and analysis process.

The initial plan included securing replacement power resources through the regional grid operated by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator and replacing the plant with other resources that had been expected to save ratepayers nearly $600 million.

Instead, Consumers Energy has reported at least $135 million in costs associated with operating the plant past its scheduled retirement date, not including additional ongoing expenses since Dec. 31, 2025.

“The Department of Energy has once again failed to show any legitimate energy emergency after almost a year of unlawfully forcing the J.H. Campbell Plant to remain operational,” Nessel said in a press release Friday. “Instead of respecting Michigan’s careful planning and the rule of law, this administration is propping up an aging coal plant at a staggering and completely unnecessary cost to ratepayers.”

The Department of Energy has issued four emergency orders tied to the plant, citing energy reliability concerns, although Nessel has argued the federal agency has not demonstrated the emergency conditions required under federal law to justify the plant’s continued operation.

Her office has filed three previous requests for rehearing with the department and three petitions for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Those proceedings remain pending.

In addition, Nessel is challenging a decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that granted a Consumers Energy request to allocate costs of continued plant operations across the northern and central regions of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, which spans 11 states and one Canadian province.

Nessel has argued before federal regulators that the Department of Energy’s underlying orders are unlawful and said she plans to seek a hearing to scrutinize whether the additional costs are accurate and reasonable. She also has challenged similar orders involving coal plants in Indiana, saying her goal is to shield Michigan residents from what she described as unlawful and unnecessary expenses.