CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — CPS Energy purchased two natural gas plants in Corpus Christi and one in Laredo from Talen Energy Corporation. These are the largest assets in a $785 million deal in which CPS Energy will acquire Talen's 1,710-megawatt (MW) generation portfolio in ERCOT's South Zone.
A combined 65 employees work at the three plants and "will have an opportunity to become CPS Energy employees at the closing of the acquisition."
CPS Energy says it secured this power for the greater San Antonio community and it will be available for its customers as early as this summer.
"The purchase of these assets furthers CPS Energy’s commitment to deliver reliable and affordable energy supply to one of the nation’s fastest growing communities, while also balancing our commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 2030,” said CPS Energy President and CEO Rudy Garza in a company news release.
Here are more details about Talen's two Corpus Christi plants:
Barney Davis Power Plant
Capacity: 897 megawatts
Number of units: 2
Commercial Operating Year: 1974, 2010
Market Location: ERCOT
Nueces Bay Power Plant
Capacity: 635 megawatts
Number of units: 1
Commercial Operating Year: 2010
Market Location: ERCOT
CPS Energy expects both the plants in Corpus Christi and the third plant in Laredo to be operational for 25 years. It announced the acquisition on March 27 and expects the deal to close in the second quarter of 2024.
ERCOT Load Zones
ERCOT says "Hubs and Load Zones are groups of electrical buses assigned to the same Hub or Load Zone where prices at the applicable electrical busses are used to calculate the SPPs for the Hub or Load Zone." You can click here to see the difference in the price of energy in all the ERCOT zones, including the CPS Energy Load Zone and the South Load Zone, which serves the Coastal Bend.