DOE’s new power export rule at odds with ‘energy emergency’ findings: Public Citizen

This is a story about federal energy policy, not something that changes your utility bill or upgrade plans directly, but it's worth knowing about if you're watching electricity supply and grid reliability news.

The U.S. Department of Energy has been issuing emergency orders since May 2025 to keep certain power plants running past their planned retirement dates, arguing the country faces regional "energy emergencies" with inadequate power supply. One example is the coal-fired Centralia plant in Washington state, ordered to stay open past its Dec. 31 shutdown date. At the same time, the DOE finalized a rule on June 22 that makes it easier for companies to get approval to export U.S. electricity abroad, including to Canada, by cutting back on public reporting requirements and limiting who can formally challenge these export applications.

The consumer group Public Citizen says these two positions contradict each other: if supply is tight enough to justify forcing power plants to keep running, it doesn't make sense to also streamline approvals for sending power out of the country. The group filed a request Wednesday asking the DOE to reconsider the export rule, and says it will likely sue if that request is denied. For homeowners, this is a policy dispute happening at the federal level over grid supply and export rules. It doesn't change any rebate program or energy-efficiency incentive, but it's part of the broader debate over whether the U.S. has enough electricity to go around.