Metallurgical Coal Producers Association and MSHA Sign National Alliance Agreement Focused on Miner Safety and Industry Collaboration

The Metallurgical Coal Producers Association (MCPA) and the U.S.  Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) formally signed a national  Alliance Agreement during the 2026 MCPA Annual Conference, establishing a collaborative effort  focused on advancing miner safety, health education and industry best practices within the  metallurgical coal sector. 

The agreement, signed as part of MSHA’s Alliance Program, brings together MCPA and MSHA to  promote safer working environments through training, education, outreach and information sharing  across the metallurgical coal industry. 

The signing ceremony took place during MCPA's Annual Conference at Stonewall Resort in Roanoke, West Virginia. 

Photo provided by Metallurgical Coal Producers Association

The Alliance Program enables MSHA to partner with organizations committed to improving mine  safety and health and fostering a culture of continuous improvement throughout the mining  industry. 

“MCPA and our member companies are deeply committed to the safety and wellbeing of the men  and women who work in our mines every day,” said Ben Beakes, President of the Metallurgical Coal  Producers Association. “This alliance with MSHA reinforces that commitment and creates a  meaningful opportunity for collaboration, education and the sharing of best practices across our industry.” 

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Feds Order Two Indiana Coal Plants to Keep Running Again — Until September 

Two Indiana coal plants, previously set to cease operation June 21, will continue running until at least September under new federal orders.

Since President Donald Trump took office last year with vows to reinvigorate the coal industry, the United States Department of Energy has ordered a handful of aging coal plants around the country to maintain operations, overruling state and regional plans to retire the generators with section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act.

NIPSCO's R.M. Schahfer Generating Station in Jasper County and CenterPoint Energy's F.B. Culley Generating Station in Warrick County were slated to cease operations in 2025, but the coal plants have been kept online for months through several rounds of 90-day emergency orders. After a third round of orders last week, representatives from both utilities say they will comply with the DOE to keep the plants functioning until Sep. 19, 2026.

The DOE orders say the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, the regional electric grid encompassing most of Indiana and much of the Midwest, faces an energy reliability emergency. 

"Emergency conditions resulting from increasing demand and shortage from accelerated retirement of generation facilities will continue in the near term and are also likely to continue in subsequent years. This could lead to the loss of power to homes and businesses in the areas that may be affected by curtailments or power outages, presenting a risk to public health and safety," U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright says in the orders.

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 Global Coal Investment is Rising and a New Energy Security Playbook is Emerging

Has the Iran energy crisis driven new demand for coal? Certainly. But as the International Energy Agency (IEA) reveals in a new report on global energy investment, coal was already very much in demand. The war with Iran and its energy disruptions have only supercharged it.

According to the IEA, investments in coal have reached a 14-year high and are set to top $180 billion by the close of 2026. China and India are leading the investment charge, with China alone spending $100 billion on coal this year, double what it invested in the sector a decade ago. India, the world’s second largest investor in coal, has seen its investments triple in the past decade.

Coal investment is growing and diversifying. Coal remains the world’s leading fuel for electricity generation, is essential to steel and cement production, and is increasingly being utilized as an alternative to oil and natural gas as a feedstock for fertilizer, petrochemical and liquid fuel production. And notably, as the IEA’s report highlights, capital flows to new coal generating capacity are rising as well.

The IEA’s findings match recent analysis from the Global Energy Monitor which found coal power capacity grew 3.5% in 2025 with 32 countries proposing to or already building new coal plants. China and India – not surprisingly – dominated global coal capacity additions.

Alongside its enormous renewable energy buildout, China now has more than 500 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity in development, nearly twice the size of the existing U.S. coal fleet.

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