U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has extended the order under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act to keep Constellation Energy’s Eddystone Generating Station in Pennsylvania running through this winter.
Orders under the law are effective for 90 days. This is the third order issued in 2025 to keep the dual-fuel power plant running. (See DOE Orders PJM, Constellation to Keep 760-MW Eddystone Generators Online.)
“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Energy is using all tools available to keep the lights on and heat running for the American people,” Wright said in a statement. “This emergency order is needed to strengthen grid reliability and will help provide affordable, reliable and secure power when Americans need it most.”
PJM has been charging all the load in its market to pay for the power plant under a tariff FERC approved this summer. (See FERC Approves Cost Allocation for Eddystone Emergency Order.)
Wright also recently extended the 202(c) order keeping Consumers Energy’s J.H. Campbell coal plant open in Michigan. (See DOE Issues 3rd Emergency Order to Keep Michigan Coal Plant Open.)
The Campbell and Eddystone orders have been challenged in court by state authorities and environmental groups. The former case is further along, with the first substantive briefs due Dec. 19.
Eddystone was scheduled to retire before the summer. PJM dispatched the units during heat waves in June and July, DOE said. The current order will keep the plant running until Feb. 24, 2026. DOE noted the RTO set a winter peak in January 2025.
“Through 2030, PJM anticipates reliability risk from increasing electricity demand, generator retirement outpacing new resource construction and characteristics of resources in PJM’s interconnection queue,” DOE’s order said. “Upcoming retirements, including the planned retirement of the Eddystone units, would exacerbate these resource adequacy issues.”
In total, the two units subject to the order generated 26,434 MWh between June 2025 and September 2025, DOE said in the order.
PJM has been dealing with rising demand and retirements in recent years. DOE’s order said that “will continue in the near term and [is] also likely to continue in subsequent years.”
“This could lead to the loss of power to homes and local businesses in the areas affected by curtailments or outages, presenting a risk to public health and safety,” the order said.
