Vistra to expand gas capacity in Permian Basin, building two natural gas power units

[Nuclear power station with steaming cooling towers and canola field]
RelaxFoto.de/E+ via Getty Images

Vistra (NYSE:VST [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VST]) said Monday it reached a final investment decision [https://seekingalpha.com/pr/20246746-vistra-announces-plans-to-build-new-gas-fueled-dispatchable-power-units-in-the-permian-basin] to build two new advanced natural gas power units, totaling a combined 860 MW, onsite at its Permian Basin Power Plant that would more than triple the site's current capacity from 325 MW to 1,185 MW.

The company said its decision to expand was based on customer demand and to meet West Texas' growing power needs, particularly the state's expanding oil and natural gas industries.

Vistra (NYSE:VST [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VST]) had said last year it planned to add as much as 2,000 MW of gas-fueled power capacity in Texas by 2028, which would be enough electricity to power 1 million homes.

Vistra (VST [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VST]) also disclosed a 20-year power-purchase agreement [https://seekingalpha.com/filing/10458145] to sell 1.2 GW of capacity from its Comanche Peak nuclear plant in Texas to an unnamed "large, investment-grade company," with the company expecting to start delivering power under the PPA in Q4 2027 but revealing no price-related information about the agreement.

The company received permission last year from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend the operation of Comanche through 2053, an additional 20 years beyond its original licenses.

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