DOE-Ordered Power Plants Running Far Below Historical Output, EIA Data Show
Units kept online for grid reliability under federal emergency orders are generating at a fraction of their pre-order capacity, EIA data show.
Power plants ordered to remain online under the U.S. Department of Energy's emergency authority are generating substantially less electricity than they did before federal intervention, according to EIA generation data reported Tuesday (2026-06-23).2
CenterPoint Energy's 104-MW F.B. Culley Unit 2 in Indiana ran at a 14% capacity factor during its first three months under a DOE Section 202(c) order, down from an average of nearly 22% over the same months in the previous four years, the EIA data show.2
The pattern holds across most units brought under federal orders. Consumers Energy's 1,420-MW Campbell plant in Michigan has averaged a 46% capacity factor since June 1, 2025, when it had been scheduled to retire — against a nearly 66% average over the same months in the four prior years. NIPSCO's 847-MW Schahfer complex in Indiana ran at a 17% capacity factor in the first quarter of 2026, against an average of 24% in the first quarter across the previous four years.2
One facility runs counter to the trend. Constellation Energy's 380-MW Eddystone units in Pennsylvania operated at just 0.5% capacity factor — roughly in line with their historical output during the same period. Eddystone's 202(c) order effectively began June 1, 2025, when those units were scheduled for retirement. EIA data for Eddystone run through December 2025, while data for the other ordered units extend through March 2026.2
The capacity factor declines matter for resource adequacy planning. Units under 202(c) orders appear in grid operators' planning reserve margin calculations. Actual generation reflects economic dispatch decisions — cheaper resources displace older coal units to the margin even while they remain available under federal order.2
DOE's Section 202(c) authority allows the energy secretary to direct generators to remain online when a shortage of electric energy exists or is anticipated. The orders have become more common as older coal and gas units approach retirement dates ahead of new capacity. The EIA's Annual Energy Outlook 2026 projects electricity consumed by data center servers will increase substantially through 2050, tightening the longer-term case for maintaining dispatchable generation reserves.2,1
The reasons for lower utilisation are not fully explained by the generation data alone. Capacity factors can fall because a unit is dispatched less frequently in a competitive merit order, because maintenance requirements increase for aging plant, or because operators schedule downtime opportunistically once long-term operation is secured under a federal commitment. The EIA data do not distinguish between these causes.2
Schahfer's 17% Q1 2026 figure is worth noting given the context: NIPSCO had targeted those coal units for retirement under a clean energy plan before the DOE intervention, and a cold Indiana winter would normally lift dispatch rates at coal plant in the first quarter.2
The data window for most units closes in March 2026, meaning the current summer dispatch season — the period most relevant to reliability — will not appear in this EIA dataset for several months. Whether ordered units are being called on during peak demand hours, or standing by as backstop capacity, is the operative question for resource adequacy planning. The EIA monthly generation data, released on a two-to-three month lag, will eventually show that. Until then, capacity sits in reliability models at nameplate levels while the actual generation record runs well below what these same units managed before federal orders arrived.2