WASHINGTON—U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright issued an emergency order to keep affordable, reliable, and secure coal generation online and address critical grid reliability issues in Florida. The emergency order directs the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) to ensure that Unit 1 at the Stanton Energy Center (Stanton) in Orlando, Florida, a coal-fired power plant, remains available to operate. Unit 1 was slated to enter a premature extended cold shutdown in June 2026.
“Taking reliable generation off the grid compromises energy reliability and needlessly raises energy costs for Americans,” said Energy Secretary Wright. “During peak summer demand, Floridians deserve continued access to affordable, reliable, and secure energy to power and cool their homes.”
Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, coal plants across the country are being saved from premature retirement and reversing plans to shut down. In 2025, more than 17 gigawatts of coal-powered electricity generation were saved from going offline.
As outlined in DOE’s Resource Adequacy Report, power outages could increase by 100 times in 2030 if the U.S. continues to take reliable power offline.
NERC’s 2025 Long-Term Reliability Assessment highlights that within the Florida Peninsula subregion, projections for resource and transmission growth lag behind what is needed to support new data centers and other large loads that drive escalating demand forecasts.
This order is in effect beginning on June 4, 2026, through September 1, 2026.
Background:
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) 2025 Long-Term Reliability Assessment warns, “The growing penetration of renewable energy means that SERC and the SERC-Florida Peninsula entities will need to continue to monitor the resource adequacy studies and the impact that renewable resources will have. As solar generation continues to grow, the need to ensure the availability of quick start generating units to meet the ramp in demand will increase.”
Originally published on U.S. Department of Energy.
