U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has issued an emergency order to keep Unit 2 of the Centralia Generating Station in Washington operational through the winter months. The plant, operated by TransAlta, was originally scheduled to shut down at the end of 2025. The decision aims to address concerns about grid reliability and prevent potential blackouts in the Northwestern United States.
“The last administration’s energy subtraction policies had the United States on track to experience significantly more blackouts in the coming years — thankfully, President Trump won’t let that happen,” said Energy Secretary Wright. “The Trump administration will continue taking action to keep America’s coal plants running so we can stop the price spikes and ensure we don’t lose critical generation sources. Americans deserve access to affordable, reliable, and secure energy to heat their homes all the time, regardless of whether the wind is blowing or the sun is shining.”
The Department of Energy’s Resource Adequacy Report found that if current trends continued from previous years, blackouts could increase up to 100 times by 2030 due to reductions in reliable power sources during earlier administrations.
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has identified an elevated risk for electricity supply issues in the WECC Northwest region during extreme weather events such as extended cold snaps. Their 2025-2026 Winter Reliability Assessment highlights these risks and notes that peak electricity demand in the U.S. has risen by 2.5% since last winter.
The emergency order takes effect from December 16, 2025, until March 16, 2026.
