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Did OUC retire its Stanton Unit 1 coal plant by 2025, as its board voted in 2021?

The Roadmap Reckoner · Orlando, Florida · last checked 2026-10-20

Verdict	PENDING, OVERDUE (by nine months and 20 days)
Promiser	Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC), Board of Commissioners
Place	Orlando, Florida
Promised	2025-12-31 ("by no later than 2025"; the 2022 plan's December 31, 2025 shutdown date)
Delivered / status	Not retired or placed in cold shutdown; a U.S. DOE order keeps Unit 1 available for operation through November 30, 2026
Last checked	2026-10-20

Verdict: PENDING, OVERDUE, by nine months and 20 days. At the last check, on October 20, 2026, Unit 1 at the Orlando Utilities Commission's Stanton Energy Center had been neither retired nor placed in cold shutdown.

In December 2021 the board of the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) approved retiring Unit 1, a coal-fired unit, by no later than 2025 [C1]. OUC's 2022 plan said it would "retire" the unit; since 2023 its plans have said it will be placed "in cold shutdown" [C8, C11, C12]. A U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) order now requires OUC to keep the unit available to run through November 30, 2026 [C28, C32a].

Last checked: October 20, 2026.

Corrected 20 October 2026: the line on who asked for the June and September orders was extended with OUC's minutes of July 7, 2026, a record that had been saved as a scan without a text layer and so had not been read. The verdict and every date in the timeline are unchanged.

Re-checked October 20, 2026. DOE's page for Order No. 202-26-42 still says the order is in effect "through November 30, 2026" [C37]. OUC's newsroom lists no Stanton item after its notice of September 2, 2026 [C38]. The minutes of OUC's August 11, 2026 meeting, which were posted before the last check, record that the Audit-Finance Committee's meeting of July 23 "concluded with a brief discussion regarding the Department of Energy order related to Stanton Unit 1", and they give no detail of what was said [C40]. That passage is on an image-only page of the minutes. The minutes of the September 15 meeting are not posted [C39]. The verdict is unchanged; the delay is counted to this check.

The promise. The Florida Municipal Electric Association's posting of OUC's announcement, dated December 15, 2021, says the board approved "the retirement of Stanton Energy Center’s (SEC) Unit 1 by no later than 2025" [C1].
The deadline. OUC's 2022 plan set the shutdown for December 31, 2025, and the time overdue is counted from that date [C9].
Where it stands. On September 1, 2026, DOE extended its order that Unit 1 "shall be made available for operation through November 30, 2026" [C28, C32a]. OUC says it "remains unable to place Stanton Energy Center Unit 1 into extended cold shutdown at this time" [C32b].
What moved before the order. From 2023 OUC's plans say "cold shutdown" where the 2022 plan said "retire" [C8, C11, C12]. Its 2025 plan moved the date from December 31, 2025 to May 31, 2026 [C14, C17].

The promise

The announcement, as the Florida Municipal Electric Association posted it on December 15, 2021 [C1]:

"On Tuesday, Dec. 14, OUC — The Reliable One’s Board of Commissioners formally approved the retirement of Stanton Energy Center’s (SEC) Unit 1 by no later than 2025 and the conversion of SEC’s Unit 2 to natural gas by no later than 2027."

Before the vote. "Previously, Unit 1, OUC’s oldest coal-fired power plant, had been slated for conversion to natural gas." [C2]
The earlier plan. "In December 2020, OUC leadership recommended significantly reducing the use of coal by no later than 2025 and eliminating it entirely by no later than 2027." [C5]
What the retirement rested on. "The retirement of Unit 1 became possible with the recent purchase of the Osceola Generating Station, a 510-megawatt (MW) simple-cycle natural gas-fired power plant located in Harmony in Osceola County." [C3] The announcement said that plant "will be fully operational by no later than 2025" [C4].
The second half. The same vote set the conversion of Unit 2 to natural gas for "no later than 2027" [C1].

Timeline

December 2020. OUC's leadership recommended cutting coal "by no later than 2025" and ending it "by no later than 2027" [C5].
April 1, 2021. OUC's 2021 Ten-Year Site Plan planned to convert Unit 1 to natural gas, with "the first unit converted no later than 2025" [C6].
September 2021. "In September 2021, OUC purchased the Osceola Generating Station" [C7].
December 2021. The board voted to retire Unit 1 by no later than 2025. The announcement, posted December 15, 2021, dates the vote "Tuesday, Dec. 14" [C1].
April 1, 2022. OUC's 2022 plan: "The move also allows OUC to retire its oldest coal-fired power plant, Stanton Unit 1" [C8], and "OUC is currently planning to shut down the Stanton Energy Center Unit 1 coal unit by December 31, 2025." [C9] The same plan said: "The Osceola units are not currently capable of providing power to OUC." [C10]
April 3, 2023. OUC's 2023 plan: "OUC is currently planning to place the Stanton Energy Center Unit 1 coal unit in cold shutdown by December 31, 2025." [C12] It expected two of the Osceola units to serve OUC "beginning in the summer of 2025" [C13].
April 1, 2024. OUC's 2024 plan kept the cold shutdown by December 31, 2025 [C14].
September 10, 2024. The board approved one purchase order, for inspection and repair of "the Stanton Energy Center Unit 1 steam generator and emergent work for the Stanton Energy Center Combined Cycle Unit B, if necessary, during the 2024 Fall Outage in the amount of $2,563,718." The record does not split that amount between the two units [C15]. The same item approved "$580,935.60" for inspection and repair of the Unit 1 Electrostatic Precipitator in the same outage [C15b].
March 4, 2025. A slide shown to the board placed "SEC Unit 1 in Extended Cold Shutdown" at 2026 on its timeline [C16a], and read "OGS Unit 2 Operational (2023 Unit 2 failed)" [C16b].
April 1, 2025. OUC's 2025 plan moved the date: "OUC is currently planning to place the Stanton Energy Center Unit 1 coal unit into extended cold shutdown by May 31, 2026." [C17] It said Osceola Unit 2 "is currently not able to provide power to OUC" [C18].
2025. The Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA), a part-owner of Unit 1, wrote in its 2025 plan that it was "working with the majority owner on a plan to exit participation in one of the owned coal units (Stanton 1) with a target for the end of 2025" [C19].
December 31, 2025. The promised deadline, as OUC's 2022 plan dated it [C9]. Unit 1 was not retired by then; OUC's plan at the time was an extended cold shutdown by May 31, 2026 [C17].
January 1, 2026. OUC's 2026 plan: "as of January 1, 2026 OUC owns 100 percent of this unit" [C20].
January 31 to February 6, 2026. During Winter Storm Fern, "OUC requested two section 202(c) emergency orders" [C21a]. "Stanton Unit 1 produced 66,230 MWh between January 31 and February 6, 2026." [C21b]
2026. OUC's 2026 plan: "OUC anticipates placing Stanton Unit 1 into extended cold shutdown by the end of May 2026 and converting Stanton Unit 2 to be capable of operating only on natural gas by the end of 2027; OUC is in the process of determining the final timing of these changes." [C22]
April 7, 2026. The board authorized amendments "to terminate Kissimmee Utility Authority's ownership in Stanton Energy Center Unit 1" [C25a]. The minutes record that "OUC remains on track to meet the target date for the SEC Unit 1 transition" [C25b].
June 4, 2026. DOE ordered OUC to keep Unit 1 available. OUC's notice: "This order is in effect beginning on June 4, 2026 through September 1, 2026." [C26a] OUC said it "will not be able to place Stanton Energy Center Unit 1 into extended cold shutdown at this time." [C26b]
September 1, 2026. DOE extended the order: "Stanton Unit 1 shall be made available for operation through November 30, 2026." [C28] OUC's notice: "This order is in effect beginning on September 2, 2026, through November 30, 2026." [C32a]
September 15, 2026. The board's agenda listed an item whose title begins "Stanton Energy Center Unit 1 – 2026 Fall Outage Work/Steam Generator Inspection & Repair Services" [C33a] and a "Stanton Energy Center Dual-Fuel Feasibility Study" [C33b].

What changed, and why, in the record's own words

The records read do not say why the retirement became a cold shutdown, or why the date moved to 2026. They record this:

The word changed. The 2022 plan said OUC would "retire" Unit 1 [C8]. From 2023 the plans say it will be placed "in cold shutdown" [C11, C12], and from 2025 "into extended cold shutdown" [C17].
The date moved. The 2022, 2023 and 2024 plans gave December 31, 2025 [C9, C12, C14]. The 2025 plan gave May 31, 2026 [C17]. The 2026 plan gave "the end of May 2026" [C22].
The plant the retirement rested on also ran late. The announcement said the Osceola plant "will be fully operational by no later than 2025" [C4]. In 2022 OUC wrote that "The Osceola units are not currently capable of providing power to OUC." [C10] In 2025 it wrote that Osceola Unit 2 "is currently not able to provide power to OUC but expected to be able to provide power to OUC by the summer 2026 peak period" [C18]. In April 2026 the minutes record "the last pending pre-requisite related to generating unit commissioning anticipated to be completed by the end of the month" [C25c]. No record read says whether the Osceola schedule caused the Unit 1 delay.
The federal order. DOE's order describes the planned step as "the premature retirement of Stanton Unit 1" [C29]. OUC wrote in June that it "will not be able to" place the unit into extended cold shutdown [C26b], and in September that it "remains unable to" [C32b].
Ownership. OUC's 2026 plan says OUC has owned all of Unit 1 since January 1, 2026 [C20]. The board authorized the amendment ending the Kissimmee Utility Authority's share on April 7, 2026 [C25a]. The records read do not explain the order of those two dates.
One date differs between DOE and OUC. DOE's order says OUC had planned the extended cold shutdown "in June 2026" [C27]. The page of OUC's 2026 plan that DOE cites says "by the end of May 2026" [C23], and the plan's tables say "by May 31, 2026" [C35].

What it costs

The promise named no cost. The 2021 announcement gives no dollar figure [C1, C2, C3, C4, C5].
Upkeep. On September 10, 2024, the board approved a $2,563,718 purchase order covering inspection and repair of the Unit 1 steam generator and, if necessary, emergent work on Combined Cycle Unit B, in the 2024 fall outage. The record does not split that amount between the two units [C15]. The same item approved $580,935.60 for the Unit 1 electrostatic precipitator, the one figure in it for Unit 1 alone [C15b]. The September 15, 2026 agenda lists more Unit 1 fall outage work, with no amount printed [C33a].
The federal order. DOE's order states: "Rate recovery is available pursuant to 16 U.S.C. § 824a(c)." [C30] No record read states what keeping Unit 1 available costs, or whether any of it reaches OUC's customers.

What to watch

November 30, 2026. The end of the current federal order [C28, C32a]. OUC must give DOE "at least fifteen days’ prior notice in writing before any anticipated change in operational status" [C34].
Unit 2. DOE's order says: "OUC expects to make a determination as to Stanton Unit 2 by year’s end based on an Integrated Resource Plan currently underway." [C31] OUC's 2026 plan says: "OUC anticipates refreshing its EIRP within the next 12 months." [C24]
The Osceola plant. In April 2026 the last pending prerequisite for commissioning its units was expected by the end of that month [C25c]. No later record read confirms that all three Osceola units now serve OUC.

What this entry did not check

OUC's own record of the 2021 vote. OUC's website posts no board agendas or minutes from before 2023, so the vote is quoted from the Florida Municipal Electric Association's posting of OUC's announcement. DOE's order cites the same posting.
Why the plans changed. The plans give the new wording and the new dates without a reason.
The cost of the federal order, and whether any of it reaches OUC's rates. No amount was found.
Who asked for the June and September 2026 orders. DOE's order says OUC requested the two emergency orders during Winter Storm Fern [C21a]. It does not say who asked for the later two. OUC's minutes of July 7, 2026 record that its general manager "clarified that OUC did not request this action", the June order [C36]; no record read says who did, or who asked for the September extension.
The September 15, 2026 meeting's decisions. Its minutes were not posted on October 20, 2026 [C39].
News coverage. No news article is used as a source.

Sources

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