U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan has introduced legislation that would limit the Energy Department’s power to keep retiring or closed power plants operating under emergency orders, a move with direct implications for two Indiana coal plants extended beyond their planned retirement dates. The Utility Affordability and Transparency Act, introduced by the northwest Indiana Democrat, would bar the department from using such orders to delay a plant’s retirement or require electricity generation from a plant that has already shut down. It would also require the Energy Department to publish cost estimates and examine alternatives before ordering a plant to remain open. Utilities would have to show the additional costs tied to federal orders as a distinct item on customers’ bills. The measure follows federal orders keeping NIPSCO’s R.M. Schahfer Generating Station in northwest Indiana and CenterPoint Energy’s F.B. Culley Generating Station along the Ohio River in service past their scheduled retirement dates. The plants are entering their 10th month of extensions. An analysis commissioned by the environmental law group Earthjustice estimated that the first three months of continued operation cost the utilities $56 million. NIPSCO customers also had the state’s highest average residential electric bills in a 2025 statewide survey. “Northwest Indiana residents are struggling to make ends meet, and a major part of that burden is the cost of heating and cooling their homes,” Mrvan said in a statement. He said customers deserve more information about what is driving utility costs and how they could be reduced. The legislation would not eliminate the Energy Department’s emergency authority. The department has historically used it to intervene in power systems during crises such as hurricanes or war. The Trump administration began using the orders last year to keep several coal plants operating as part of a broader effort to support the coal industry. The department cited potential electricity demand increases and shortages of power or transmission facilities as grounds for its orders. The decisions have faced legal challenges. In September, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected the department’s interpretation of “emergency” in a case involving Michigan’s J.H. Campbell coal plant. That ruling could influence pending cases involving the Indiana plants. Mrvan’s proposal would make cost disclosure and consideration of alternatives explicit requirements when federal orders affect plant operations. It must still advance through Congress to become law.