On December 30, 2025, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued emergency order 202-25-14, pursuant to section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, to Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association (Tri-State), Platte River Power Authority, Salt River Project, PacifiCorp, and Xcel Energy to take “all measures necessary” to ensure that Unit 1 at the Craig Station in Craig, Colo. is available to operate for the next 90 days, until March 30, 2026. The order is in coordination with the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) – Rocky Mountain Region and Southwest Power Pool (SPP) West.
Craig Units 1 and 2 are part of the Yampa Project, jointly owned with the multiple utility service providers listed above. Unit 1 was scheduled for retirement by Dec. 31, 2025, due to economic reasons and in compliance with numerous state and federal requirements.
“Tri-State has a policy of 100% compliance, and we will work with Unit 1 co-owners, and federal and state governments to determine the most cost-effective path to that end,” said Duane Highley, Tri-State CEO. “We are continuing to review the order to determine what this means for Craig Station employees and operations, and the financial impacts. As a not-for-profit cooperative, our membership will bear the costs of compliance with this order unless we can identify a method to share costs with those in the region. There is not a clear path for doing so, but we will continue to evaluate our options.”
Separately, Unit 1 went into an outage on Dec. 19, 2025, due to a mechanical failure of a valve. As a result of the order, the company says that retaining Unit 1 will likely require additional investments in operations, repairs, maintenance and, potentially, fuel supply, all factors increasing costs. Craig Unit 1’s capacity is 427 megawatts. Unit 2, with a capacity of 410 megawatts, and Unit 3, with a capacity of 448 megawatts, are scheduled to retire in 2028.
Source: www.coalage.com
