Trump energy chief outlines coal’s ‘crucial’ role in affordability as admin pushes to keep plants running

Energy Secretary Christopher Wright affirmed the Trump administration’s plan to keep U.S. coal-fired power plants operating amid rising electricity prices and increasing grid reliability concerns tied to growing demand.

"It's crucial to the reliability and affordability of electricity in the U.S.," he told FOX Business on Monday.

"The states that have rushed to close their coal plants have also had rapidly escalating electricity prices. Americans don't like that. President Trump doesn't like it."

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Last week, White House officials reiterated the administration’s commitment to delay the retirement of certain coal-fired power plants that had been slated to close, a move supported by coal industry advocates but criticized by environmental groups.

The Trump administration has also reinstated the National Coal Council, a federal advisory committee to the Energy Department whose charter expired in 2021 under the Biden administration before being revived in 2025.

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Wright told Stuart Varney that coal-fired plants targeted for closure in some states remain critical to grid reliability.

This comes as electricity demand continues to rise, in part because of data centers tied to the expansion of artificial intelligence and other energy-intensive industries.

The administration has also proposed that major technology companies — particularly data center operators — bear more of the cost of new power generation needed to meet surging demand.

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"[Tech companies] need a lot more electricity in the United States, and they don't want to drive up electricity prices," Wright said.

"The Democrats and others are saying [those companies are] the cause of rising electricity prices; it's a great way to escape blame. They're not the cause of the rising electricity price. In effect, they can be a key part of the solution, and that's what President Trump's order is trying to do."

Fox News Digital's Charles Creitz contributed to this report.