Vistra Energy Announces Closure Of Three TX Coal Plants By First Half Of 2018

[hatrack]

Hey Rick! Hey Scott! SUCK IT!!!

If anyone needed a reminder of the breadth of change coming to the power sector, Vistra Energy Corp. offered a big one last week. The company said Friday that its Luminant subsidiary plans to close the Big Brown and Sandow coal-fueled power plants in Texas. That came a week after Luminant disclosed a decision to retire its Monticello plant, which also runs on coal.

Those moves could push more than 4,000 megawatts of coal power offline in Texas' main electric grid in the early part of 2018. Observers have been expecting Texas coal retirements, but the news is jolting in part because of the scope and timing.

Friday was a day the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) set aside for a staff-led workshop to explore possible market changes that might result in higher wholesale prices. Earlier in the week, President Trump's U.S. EPA moved to withdraw the Clean Power Plan, which was intended to curb carbon dioxide emissions. EPA is taking a lighter approach to regulations generally, and a new version of regional haze oversight in Texas has been blasted by critics (Greenwire, Oct. 3).

None of that apparently was enough for Vistra. In its Friday announcement, the company cited low wholesale power prices, low natural gas prices, "an oversupplied renewable generation market" and other factors.

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https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060063689

[GreenGreenLimaBean]

1. huge plus for citizens of texas

heard an interview yesterday with the city manager of Rockdale on the closure (closest city). He wasn't all that upset and said many people are moving to Rockdale for the small town atmosphere and proximity to Austin metro. He said the loss of jobs would not be a big problem to absorb with the influx. Kinda shocking to hear how reasonable he sounded as towns east of austin are very very conservative...just an observation, and don't think there will be a fight to keep this plant open as oil/GAS control most of the state gov't and this capacity will be replaced with gas burning turbines.