The tab to keep a Pacific Northwest coal plant on standby keeps rising. Who will pay?

By: Tom Banse

Outlets: Washington State Standard

Published: June 25, 2026

Words: 1,196

Last Updated: 3 weeks, 1 day ago

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Electric utilities across the Pacific Northwest are fuming that their customers might be saddled with the costs of a coal-burning power plant that isn’t producing any power.

The messy dispute stems from the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to sustain the American coal industry.

The owner of the coal plant near Centralia, Washington, said it is complying with a federal order to keep the facility open – although it appears to have burned its last lump …

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