Overview
- Energy Secretary Chris Wright directed TransAlta’s 730‑MW Centralia Unit 2 to remain available through March 16, 2026, delaying its planned end‑of‑2025 retirement.
- The unit is to operate at the direction of the Bonneville Power Administration as balancing authority or CAISO as regional reliability coordinator.
- NERC assessments flagged elevated blackout risk during prolonged cold snaps across Washington, Oregon, Idaho and parts of neighboring states, with peak winter demand forecast about 2.9 GW (9.3%) higher than last year.
- The order collides with Washington’s coal phaseout law and intersects with TransAlta’s plan to convert the unit to natural gas by 2028; the company says it is evaluating the directive.
- Cost recovery remains unclear in the Northwest’s non‑RTO market as DOE points TransAlta to seek FERC tariff waivers, while environmental groups decry the move and pursue legal challenges similar to those targeting earlier DOE orders for the Campbell and Eddystone plants.