Luminant closes Texas coal-fired power plants

• 6 years ago (2017-11-21)
• David Flin

Coal 282 North America 1004

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The electricity generator Luminant has announced that it is closing three coal-fired power plants and a coal mine in Texas, USA, with a consequent loss of around 600 jobs. The Texas Workforce Commission said that Luminant plans to make the layoffs in January.

Luminant had previously announced that it would be shuttering the Monticello, Big Brown, and Sandow power plants. The filing with regulators puts a number on the affected jobs, nearly half of which are at the Three Oaks coal mine near Elgin.

The company said that it is closing the power plants because of competition from cheap natural gas, low wholesale power prices, and an increase in renewable generation.

Luminant is part of Vistra Energy Corporation, which also owns the Texas electricity retailer TXU Energy.