Texas Natural Gas Plant Uprates

More Power from Plants Already Operating in Texas

Some of the fastest new generation added to Texas’ grid isn’t coming from new power plants. Across its existing fleet of natural gas plants, Vistra has been upgrading generating equipment to produce more electricity from the same sites, a practice known in the industry as an uprate. Between 2024 and 2029, these upgrades will have added about 550 MW of dispatchable capacity to the ERCOT grid. Getting more from existing plants is one of the quickest ways to add reliable, affordable power in Texas.

Capacity Added Without New Construction

Recently Added and Operating
470MW
Megawatts added to ERCOT from upgrades at existing plants.
Added in 2026
36MW
Megawatts added to ERCOT in 2026 from uprates.
Planned by Summer 2029
80+ MW
More megawatts planned from further upgrades across the fleet.
Expected Total
550+ MW
The running total once planned work is complete, subject to regulatory, economic, or market conditions.

What Is an Uprate

An uprate is a set of improvements to equipment and operations that lets an existing generating unit produce more electricity than before. That work can mean upgraded turbine components, improved cooling, better controls, or changes to how a unit is operated. Individually, these upgrades provide modest output increases, but collectively these investments can significantly increase generation capacity across a fleet the size of Vistra’s in Texas.

What makes uprates valuable to the grid is their ability to get more megawatts from what is already built and operating. The new generation can be added in months instead of the years it takes to permit, build, commission, and connect a new power plant to the grid. Through uprates of its existing fleet, Vistra is bringing extra capacity to Texas homes and businesses as concerns about reliability and affordability continue to rise.

Where the New Megawatts Came From

Vistra added approximately 430 MW across 2024 and 2025. A further 36 MW came online in 2026, bringing the operating total to approximately 470 MW.

Vistra currently plans to add more than 80 additional MW through further uprate work by summer 2029, which would bring the total to more than 550 MW added at sites across Texas. These planned upgrades may change based on regulatory, economic, or market conditions.

Uprates at a Glance

Fuel sourceNatural gas
Project typeUpgrades to existing generating facilities
Capacity added and operating~470 MW
Added between 2024 and 2025~430 MW
Added in 202636 MW
Planned by summer 202980+ MW
Expected total new generation550+ MW
LocationMultiple existing Vistra power plants across Texas
Power marketERCOT

Questions About the Uprates

What is a power plant uprate?

An uprate is a set of improvements to a power plant’s existing generating equipment and operations that allow it to produce more electricity than before. Because the plant and its connection to the grid already exist, an uprate reaches the grid faster than a new facility. Permits are still required, but approvals are narrower, and there is no new site or transmission line to build. Vistra’s uprates across its existing Texas natural gas plants have added approximately 470 MW of dispatchable capacity to the ERCOT grid.

Approximately 470 MW are added and operating. Approximately 430 MW were added between 2024 and 2025, and a further 36 MW in 2026.

Vistra currently plans to add more than 80 additional MW through further uprate work by summer 2029, which would bring the total to more than 550 MW added at existing plant sites across Texas since 2024. These planned upgrades may change based on regulatory, economic, or market conditions.

The uprates span multiple existing Vistra natural gas plants across Texas, all of them connected to the ERCOT grid. The company’s ongoing investments in its fleet demonstrate its commitment to reliable, affordable electricity for its customers across Texas.

Reliability depends on having enough generation available when demand peaks on hot summer afternoons, long winter days, and during extreme weather events. Uprates add that capacity at plants that are already built, already operating, and already connected. On a grid where peak demand keeps climbing, megawatts that arrive in months rather than years are the ones that count.

More on Vistra’s Investments in Reliability Across Texas

Operating
Oak Hill Solar Facility
200 MW on the reclaimed site of a former East Texas lignite mine, with a second phase under construction.
Under construction
Permian Basin Power Plant Expansion
Two new natural gas units adding 860 MW near Monahans.
Under construction
Coleto Creek Power Plant
A coal-to-natural-gas conversion keeping about 630 MW on the grid in Goliad County.
Overview
Vistra’s Plan to Support Reliability
How Vistra is adding generation across Texas, and what is coming next.

Questions about this project? Contact us.