This page is part of our public exclusion list — a transparency tool that shows which companies we screen out and why. It is not investment advice, and it is not an accusation. But it is subject to change as our understanding of the facts evolves.
CMS Energy operates the 1,540 MW J.H. Campbell Generating Complex in West Olive, Michigan through its subsidiary Consumers Energy. The plant comprises three coal-fired units: Unit 1 (265 MW, 1962), Unit 2 (404 MW, 1967), and Unit 3 (871 MW, 1980). Coal accounted for approximately 20% of Consumers Energy's total electric supply in 2025.
Consumers Energy announced in June 2021 a plan to retire all three Campbell units by May 2025, fifteen years ahead of their design lives. Michigan regulators approved the retirement. However, a series of DOE emergency orders under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act have compelled the plant's continued operation, with the fourth order extending through May 18, 2026. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has challenged the orders as arbitrary and illegal. Consumers Energy has stated its long-term clean energy plan remains unchanged, but the federal intervention has cost ratepayers over $164 million through September 2025 alone. The company previously retired the Karn coal units (Units 1 and 2) in June 2023.
CMS Energy's primary subsidiary, Consumers Energy, distributes natural gas to approximately 1.8 million customers in Michigan. Consumers Energy operates over 27,000 miles of natural gas distribution mains and service lines, and natural gas delivery contributes a significant portion of the company's revenue. CMS Energy has no announced plan to phase out its gas distribution network, instead forecasting continued customer growth and ongoing infrastructure investment.
In January 2026, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a lawsuit against CMS Energy and other fossil fuel companies, alleging they "acted as a cartel in an unlawful conspiracy in restraint of trade to forestall meaningful competition from alternative energy technologies." The suit accuses the defendants of coordinating to protect the market for natural gas appliances and infrastructure.
CMS Energy's current capital plan directs billions toward gas infrastructure maintenance and modernization, with no binding commitment to cease gas hookups for new buildings or to retire its gas distribution operations.
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Companies appear on our exclusion list based on our investment judgment — not because they've done anything illegal. This is a difference of values and opinion, not an accusation of wrongdoing. Exclusion does not constitute a recommendation against investing in any company, and absence from the list does not constitute a recommendation to invest.
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