HOUSTON, March 13 - The Texas electric grid operator has approved Luminant's request to retire five aging natural gas-fired power plants before summer power use peaks, said the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
ERCOT has determined that Dallas-based Luminant can permanently shut 2,114 megawatts of gas generation without hurting reliability of the state's power network, according to the agency notices.
The state's largest generating company also got approval to mothball a 302-MW plant after the summer season, keeping it on extended shutdown.
CPS Energy, the municipal utility of San Antonio, can shut its 314-MW Tuttle power plant in Bexar County without hurting the grid, ERCOT said this week.
Highly efficient, combined-cycle gas-fired power plants built in Texas in the last decade have displaced more than 40 steam-boiler units since 2002 when rising gas prices made older units uneconomical to operate in the state's competitive wholesale market.
Gas plants totaling 5,200 MW have been shut permanently and another 4,400 MW remain on mothball status.
While most of the retired and mothballed plants were built before 1960, Luminant will retire a plant built in 1989, the 231-MW Sweetwater plant in Nolan County. Sweetwater is the first combined-cycle gas plant to be deemed uneconomical by its owner.
Luminant, a unit of privately held Energy Future Holdings, has not decided whether to dismantle the retired plants, a spokesman said Friday.
Luminant will replace some of the lost megawatts with new coal-fired generation expected online this year at the 600-MW Sandow 5 coal unit in Milam County and the 800-MW Oak Grove 1 unit in Robertson County.
ERCOT is studying whether two plants Luminant sought to shut are needed to maintain grid reliability to avoid blackouts. A final decision on whether ERCOT will pay Luminant to operate those plants is expected next month, ERCOT said.
Many of the Luminant units to shut were previously mothballed or were among sites where Luminant proposed to build as many as 11 new coal units, a plan scaled back to three units in 2007 amid widespread public opposition.
In addition to the Luminant's Sweetwater plant, the company will retire the 594-MW Morgan Creek units 5 and 6 in Mitchell County, three units totaling 726 MW at North Lake in Dallas County and the 563-MW Tradinghouse plant in McClennan County.
Luminant plans to mothball the 302-MW Lake Creek station in McLennan County later this year.
ERCOT is still studying a need for the 779-MW DeCordova plant in Hood County and the 630-MW Permian Basin units 5 and 6 in Ward County, the agency said. Luminant will continue to operate several peaking units at the Permian Basin plant.
Energy Future Holdings, the former TXU Corp, is now owned by an investor group that includes Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co and TPG.
ERCOT has determined that Dallas-based Luminant can permanently shut 2,114 megawatts of gas generation without hurting reliability of the state's power network, according to the agency notices.
The state's largest generating company also got approval to mothball a 302-MW plant after the summer season, keeping it on extended shutdown.
CPS Energy, the municipal utility of San Antonio, can shut its 314-MW Tuttle power plant in Bexar County without hurting the grid, ERCOT said this week.
Highly efficient, combined-cycle gas-fired power plants built in Texas in the last decade have displaced more than 40 steam-boiler units since 2002 when rising gas prices made older units uneconomical to operate in the state's competitive wholesale market.
Gas plants totaling 5,200 MW have been shut permanently and another 4,400 MW remain on mothball status.
While most of the retired and mothballed plants were built before 1960, Luminant will retire a plant built in 1989, the 231-MW Sweetwater plant in Nolan County. Sweetwater is the first combined-cycle gas plant to be deemed uneconomical by its owner.
Luminant, a unit of privately held Energy Future Holdings, has not decided whether to dismantle the retired plants, a spokesman said Friday.
Luminant will replace some of the lost megawatts with new coal-fired generation expected online this year at the 600-MW Sandow 5 coal unit in Milam County and the 800-MW Oak Grove 1 unit in Robertson County.
ERCOT is studying whether two plants Luminant sought to shut are needed to maintain grid reliability to avoid blackouts. A final decision on whether ERCOT will pay Luminant to operate those plants is expected next month, ERCOT said.
Many of the Luminant units to shut were previously mothballed or were among sites where Luminant proposed to build as many as 11 new coal units, a plan scaled back to three units in 2007 amid widespread public opposition.
In addition to the Luminant's Sweetwater plant, the company will retire the 594-MW Morgan Creek units 5 and 6 in Mitchell County, three units totaling 726 MW at North Lake in Dallas County and the 563-MW Tradinghouse plant in McClennan County.
Luminant plans to mothball the 302-MW Lake Creek station in McLennan County later this year.
ERCOT is still studying a need for the 779-MW DeCordova plant in Hood County and the 630-MW Permian Basin units 5 and 6 in Ward County, the agency said. Luminant will continue to operate several peaking units at the Permian Basin plant.
Energy Future Holdings, the former TXU Corp, is now owned by an investor group that includes Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co and TPG.
