The U.S. Department of Energy has extended an order that requires the Northern Indiana Public Service Company to maintain operations at its R.M. Schahfer generating station in Wheatfield.
The previous order went into effect on Dec. 23 and ended March 23. U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright issued an extension to begin March 24 and end June 21, according to an announcement from the DOE.
“The last administration’s energy subtraction policies had the United States on track to likely experience significantly more blackouts in the coming years — thankfully, President (Donald) Trump won’t let that happen,” Wright said in a March 23 statement. “The Trump Administration will continue taking action to keep America’s coal plants running to ensure we don’t lose critical generation sources. Americans deserve access to affordable, reliable, and secure energy to power their homes all the time, regardless of whether the wind is blowing or the sun is shining.”
In addition to NIPSCO, CenterPoint Energy and Midcontinent Independent System Operator were told to keep the F.B. Culley generating station operable in Newburgh.
According to the executive order, the actions were made to ensure Midwest residents “have continued access to affordable, reliable, and secure energy,” and “prioritize minimizing electricity costs for the American people and minimizing the risk and cost of blackouts.”
In a Monday statement, a NIPSCO spokesperson said that the utility has maintained operations at the Schahfer generating station and continues “to assess the full impact of these orders on our operations, customers and employees.”
The total cost to comply with the federal order is still being evaluated, according to the utility.
“Prior to the original 202(c) order, Schahfer Units 17 and 18 primarily served NIPSCO customers when operated at full capacity,” the NIPSCO statement said. “Following the orders, these units service the (MISO) Northern and Central Zones, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission … has authorized MISO to adopt a tariff to permit NIPSCO to seek recovery of costs to comply with the 202(c) orders. … As this process continues, NIPSCO remains focused on operating safely and providing reliable energy to the MISO Northern and Central Zones in conformance with the 202(c) order.”
Last week, in an Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission investigative hearing, NIPSCO President and COO Vince Parisi said the investment cost for the plant could be about $100 million, and the utility still needs to evaluate operating costs.
NIPSCO previously filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, seeking to recover certain costs and help ensure customers aren’t impacted by the orders, according to Post-Tribune archives. The utility also made a filing with the IURC, aiming to ensure that continued operations don’t impact customer rates.
In a Monday statement, Ben Inskeep, program director for the Citizens Action Coalition, said the DOE order will cost “tens of millions of dollars” to keep the coal plants operating.
“The federal government says these unreliable and expensive coal plants are needed for speculative (artificial intelligence) data centers owned by wealthy big tech corporations,” Inskeep said in his statement. “Instead of making the data centers pay, the soaring cost of these unlawful orders will fall on Midwesterners’ utility bills. It’s another broken promise from these politicians and industry, and another utility rate increase for the rest of us.”
In July 2025, the Citizens Action Coalition found that statewide electric utility bills have increased more than $28 per month, or 17.5%, according to a previous report. NIPSCO residential customers were hit hardest, with about a $50 per month increase, or 26.7%, in one year.
Ashley Williams, executive director for Just Transition Northwest Indiana, said in a statement that the order to extend the generating station’s operations was predictable.
“This is all part of a manufactured reliability crisis to power the unchecked AI data center invasion in the Midwest,” Williams said. “And who pays the estimated $174,000 (per) day to keep the Schahfer plant operational? NIPSCO customers and the MISO grid at large, who are already sounding the alarm that ratepayers cannot afford a penny more, while the utility makes record profits and undercuts its workers.”
JTNWI, earlier this month, joined EarthJustice, Sierra Club and the Environmental Law and Policy Center in a challenge in the U.S. Court of Appeals’ D.C. Circuit of the DOE’s previous emergency order.
“We will use every tool at our disposal to unite against the Trump administration’s exploitation of its emergency powers, as well as Jasper County and communities across the country caught in the crosshairs of these reckless orders,” Williams said in her statement.
According to Post-Tribune archives, before this order, NIPSCO was in the middle of a multiyear initiative to close its coal-fired generating stations, and the utility plans to replace the sites with more cost-effective, efficient and sustainable sources, including wind, solar and battery storage.
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NIPSCO plans to convert the Schahfer station into a natural gas plant as part of a plan to provide energy for data centers, including a $15 billion Amazon Web Services development that will be invested in the region, including Hobart, according to Post-Tribune archives.