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FERC rejects TransAlta plan to recover Centralia coal plant costs under DOE emergency order

FERC on October 1, 2026 rejected TransAlta's plan to recover $19.9 million in costs of keeping the 730-MW Centralia coal unit in Washington running under a DOE emergency order, saying the plan spread costs too broadly. FERC said TransAlta may refile limited to Northwest utilities.

By Greener Numbers Editorial Team · Published October 2, 2026 · Updated 10/2/2026

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday, October 1, 2026, rejected TransAlta's plan to recover its costs for keeping the 730-MW, coal-fired Centralia power plant in Washington operating under an emergency order from the U.S. Department of Energy. Utility Dive and Clearing It Up both reported the decision. Clearing It Up identifies it as an order in Docket ER26-2422.

TransAlta sought to recover $19.9 million in expenses tied to the DOE's first 90-day emergency order, issued in mid-December, which kept the unit from retiring at the end of 2025 as planned. TransAlta also said it expected to spend an additional $23 million on repairs to keep the unit available.

FERC said the plan extended too far geographically. It called for recovering some costs from the California Independent System Operator and the Southwest Power Pool. FERC said any refiled plan should recoup costs only from load-serving entities in the Northwest assessment area that DOE cited, which covers Montana, Oregon, Washington and parts of northern California and northern Idaho.

FERC did not reject cost recovery in principle. It said the emergency orders' statement that Centralia is not a capacity resource does not prevent the commission from approving compensation for the costs TransAlta incurred to keep the unit operational, even though the unit has produced no electricity this year through July, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data cited by Utility Dive.

Opposing the plan were the Bonneville Power Administration, SPP, CAISO, Snohomish County PUD and other public power utilities, plus Washington state and its Utilities and Transportation Commission. DOE has issued further 90-day orders for Centralia, most recently on September 11. This brief relies on trade press reports of the FERC order; it does not quote the order text.

Official source: Utility Dive ↗