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Vistra CEO Would Like PJM Resource Adequacy Discussion To Focus On LSEs Offering Differentiated Products With Unique Attributes (Firm Capacity, Energy, etc) Sought By Customers
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During an earnings call yesterday, Jim Burke, president and CEO of Vistra, said that the discussion of resource adequacy in PJM should focus on LSEs providing different levels of attributes (such as firm capacity and/or energy) as sought by varying customers.
Burke referenced PJM's recent report on alternative paths for consideration in light of what PJM termed a "credibility trap" under the current capacity market design (see ECM's prior story for full details on PJM's report)
Responding to an analyst's question, Burke said, "I think the policy paper yesterday [5/6] ... I thought was incredibly helpful. It raises the level of discussion to where I think we ultimately should go, which is, different products will probably have different attributes. Some products might actually be firm from a capacity standpoint. Some may not be. That could be a cheaper product, that could be one that gets you [large loads] connected sooner. And that's ultimately a customer choice. And where I'd like to see the conversation go is where load-serving entities such as Vistra are actually looking at these as products that they're offering to their customers, and customers are opting into the product that provides the attributes they're looking for. That could cover capacity, that could cover energy."
"I realize I'm moving forward in that discussion from white paper to recommendation. But I think where we're having trouble right now is, we have a central body that's trying to make product choices for everybody and where to set that bar. And I think the hyperscalers are learning the opportunities to be flexible. You've seen some hyperscalers really lean into that with a lot of public announcements. We were part of announcements with Emerald AI about their tools to be more flexible, and they're doing some pilots in Silicon Valley with NVIDIA that I think will be very interesting from a demonstration of this capability. So I do think the world, as we look at trade-offs, is starting to become more accepting of some level of flexibility in order to get speed," Burke said
"How soon does that materialize? I can't say, and at what price? Because the question is where does an RBP [backstop auction] clear, and what does it cost to be firm versus potentially be connect and manage. I don't think we have those details yet. I think that's something we're very active in. But I think it's too early to call it. And I think customers, because they have choices, as to where to go, they can decide which markets to go into, which states, obviously, to go into. We serve a lot of them. So we hope to serve them in one of our markets. But I don't think we can give you a prediction of how much would be flexible and how much would be firm," Burke said
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May 8, 2026
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Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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