Parent Of Retail Supplier Accelerates Closure Of Coal Plant

Vistra today announced that it will close the Zimmer Power Plant in Moscow, Ohio, by mid-2022.

The company had previously announced the plant would retire no later than 2027 based on environmental regulations.

"The early retirement decision comes after the plant failed to secure any capacity revenues in the latest auction held in May by the grid operator, PJM," Vistra said

"May's PJM capacity auction for 2022-23 cleared much lower than expected – nearly 50% lower than the 2021-22 auction in the zone where Zimmer is located. Due to this lower clearing price, Zimmer was unable to sell any generating capacity in the auction. In addition, indications suggest future PJM capacity auctions have the potential to experience low clearing price results, as well, resulting in a multimillion-dollar loss in expected future capacity revenues compared to previous years," Vistra said

Vistra plans to retire the site on May 31, 2022.

"As it is doing at its plant sites across the country, the company will evaluate the Zimmer site for potential investments in renewables or grid-scale battery storage, utilizing existing infrastructure," Vistra said

Zimmer Power Plant opened in 1991 and is a single-unit site with a capacity of 1,300 megawatts.