Martin Falbisoner / Wikimedia Commons
Ratepayers and power grid operators across the Pacific Northwest — including in Oregon, Idaho, and western Montana — may be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars to keep a dormant coal plant in Washington state on standby, and federal regulators have yet to decide who foots the bill.
Why It Matters
The Centralia coal plant, a 55-year-old, 730-megawatt facility in southwestern Washington, has not generated a single kilowatt of electricity since December. Yet the costs of keeping it ready to run continue to mount. Because the Bonneville Power Administration serves wholesale power to more than 130 utilities across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and western Montana, any financial obligation eventually imposed on BPA could ripple directly into utility rates across the region.
For Oregon ratepayers especially, the situation raises pointed questions about energy reliability policy and who ultimately absorbs emergency costs ordered by the federal government. The dispute also touches on how utilities shift energy cost burdens when grid management decisions are made at the federal level.
What Happened
Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued the initial 90-day emergency order in December, directing TransAlta Corporation — the Alberta-based owner of the Centralia plant — to keep it available as a grid reliability backstop. Wright has since renewed that order twice, with the most recent extension running through September 13.
In justifying the continued standby requirement, Wright pointed to seasonal demand concerns. “During peak summer demand, Northwesterners deserve continued access to affordable, reliable, and secure energy to power and cool their homes,” he said in a public statement.
Despite that rationale, TransAlta CEO Joel Hunter acknowledged the plant has not been called upon and likely won’t be during the current order period. “It hasn’t run thus far and our expectation is that it likely will not run here, you know, through (the duration of) the order,” Hunter said.
TransAlta submitted its first cost recovery invoice on April 30, totaling $20 million. The company has estimated it will cost approximately $23 million to repair and refurbish the plant to remain on standby through the third and fourth quarters of 2026. The company is seeking reimbursement from grid operators that it argues benefited from the plant’s availability.
By the Numbers
- $20 million — first invoice TransAlta filed with grid operators, submitted April 30
- $23 million — estimated standby refurbishment cost through end of 2026
- 730 megawatts — Centralia plant’s generation capacity
- 55 years old — age of the Centralia facility
- 130+ — utilities served by Bonneville Power Administration across the region
- 6 — number of coal plants nationally the Trump administration has sought to keep operating under similar emergency authority
Disputed Billing
TransAlta initially proposed splitting costs between the Bonneville Power Administration and CAISO, California’s grid operator. Subsequent orders added Southwest Power Pool and GridForce to the list. All four entities have rejected the proposed invoicing arrangements, leaving the matter before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
FERC is expected to assign an administrative law judge to review the reimbursement request. The commission currently has five politically appointed commissioners — three Republicans and two Democrats — meaning the outcome could hinge on how the majority interprets the legal basis for the emergency orders themselves.
Washington state and several environmental groups are separately challenging the emergency orders in court, arguing they exceed federal authority. Washington’s legislature also moved to apply a state sales tax to coal deliveries this spring, and the state’s clean energy transition requirements took effect in January, creating additional financial and regulatory pressure on coal operations.
What’s Next
The standby order runs through September 13, and no further grid calls are expected before then. TransAlta has indicated it is targeting the first quarter of 2027 for a final investment decision on whether to convert the Centralia plant to burn natural gas — a move that would represent a significant shift in the facility’s long-term future.
Until FERC rules on cost recovery, the question of who pays remains open. With BPA’s service territory spanning much of the inland Northwest, Oregon utility customers and state energy planners are watching the proceeding closely. Oregon officials have already been wrestling with reliability and cost pressures in the region’s energy transition, including gaps in cooling infrastructure that have drawn legislative attention in recent sessions.
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