When gas prices spike, most people notice at the pump. What they don't notice is what happens to the electricity coming out of their wall.

Power plants are dispatched in order of cost — cheapest first. When natural gas is cheap, gas plants run. When gas prices rise, coal becomes the cheaper option, and utilities switch. In 2025, coal consumption in the power sector jumped nine percent — the first increase in years — driven by higher gas prices and rising demand from data centers.

Wisconsin still gets about thirty percent of its electricity from coal — all of it imported, mostly by rail from Wyoming. The state has no coal of its own. So when gas prices spike, Wisconsin doesn't just pay more for energy. It burns more of someone else's coal to make it.

Higher prices and dirtier power at the same time. That's the part of fossil fuel dependence most people never see.

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How "merit order" dispatch works: Power plants are dispatched in order of their variable cost — cheapest first. When natural gas prices are low, gas plants are cheaper to run than coal, so they get dispatched first. When gas prices spike, coal becomes the cheaper option, and utilities switch. This is called "gas-to-coal switching." (EIA)

Coal consumption jumped in 2025. EIA confirmed coal consumption in the electric power sector increased 9% in 2025 — the first increase in years. An 11% jump in coal-fired electricity generation was driven by higher gas costs and rising electricity demand, particularly from data centers. (Heatmap News; EIA STEO)

In MISO — Wisconsin's grid — coal regularly exceeds gas generation in winter months. As recently as 2021-22, coal exceeded gas in every month of the year. More recently it's been limited to winter, but the pattern persists whenever gas prices rise. (EIA)

Winter Storm Fern showed the extreme case. In January 2026, Henry Hub natural gas hit an all-time high of $30.57/MMBtu. Coal plants ramped up hard — 43 million short tons consumed in one month, 10% more than forecast. Coal consumption increased across all four census regions, led by gains in the South and Midwest. (Natural Gas Intelligence)

Wisconsin imports all its coal. The state has zero coal mines. Roughly 30-32% of Wisconsin's electricity comes from coal (down from ~60% a decade ago). All of it is imported, primarily from Wyoming's Powder River Basin by rail. (EIA Wisconsin State Energy Profile)

LNG exports contribute to the problem. In March-April 2025, LNG exports equaled about half of all natural gas used for electricity generation in the U.S. Exporting gas raises domestic prices, which triggers more coal dispatch — a feedback loop. U.S. LNG exports were up 25% in 2025 with another 10% increase expected in 2026. (Utility Dive/IEEFA)

Coal plants are being kept open by government orders. The Trump administration is using emergency orders (Section 202c) to prevent coal plant retirements. At least one Michigan plant reported a net loss of $125 million for 2025 under these orders. If extended to all plants scheduled to retire by 2028, the cost to ratepayers could reach $3-6 billion per year. (EDF/Earthjustice)

The emissions impact: Total U.S. CO2 emissions have essentially flattened at roughly 4.8 billion metric tons, as coal's resurgence offsets gains from renewable energy growth. (Heatmap News)

Related Civic Minute segments: Rockets and Feathers (CM-21), Oil Is a Global Commodity (CM-23), Where Does Your Electricity Come From? (CM-34), What Energy Independence Actually Means (CM-38)