Washington made a promise — to our families, to our workers, and to future generations — that we would move beyond coal.

For nearly 15 years, the retirement of the TransAlta coal plant in Centralia has been planned, negotiated, and written into Washington law. Utilities prepared. Communities prepared. Workers prepared. The Clean Energy Transformation Act set a clear deadline: coal-fired electricity would end by 2025.

Yet just weeks before the plant’s final coal unit was scheduled to shut down, the U.S. Department of Energy issued a so-called “emergency” order forcing it to remain open.

There has been no publicly demonstrated imminent energy shortfall in Washington that justifies overriding state law and long-standing agreements. Instead, this order disrupts careful regional planning and prolongs the operation of the state’s largest source of greenhouse gas and nitrogen oxide pollution.

For years, Centralia was responsible for roughly 10% of Washington’s total greenhouse gas emissions. It has operated under a retirement agreement that allowed it to avoid installing modern pollution controls, on the understanding that it would close. Extending its life now means extending pollution that harms public health and contributes to climate change — and potentially raising electricity costs for families who are already struggling with high utility bills.

This petition calls on U.S. Department of Energy Secretary and members of Congress to immediately rescind or overturn the emergency order keeping the Centralia coal plant operating and to respect Washington’s lawful transition away from coal under state and federal law.

Federal overreach should not undo years of careful planning and collaboration. It’s time to let Washington move forward, not backward.

Sign this petition to stand for clean air, affordable energy, and the rule of law in Washington State.