Vistra Says 70% of Gas Force Majeures Preceded Texas Blackouts
- Natural gas industry has blamed outages for halting gas supply
- Vistra claims gas suppliers curbed electricity use for profit
A utilities truck drives down the street during a power outage in McKinney, Texas, Feb. 16, 2021.
Photographer: Cooper Neill/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Vistra Corp. pushed back on the widespread narrative that power outages fueled natural-gas supply disruptions during the Texas energy crisis, saying that most of its suppliers cut off deliveries before blackouts even began.
About 70% of the force majeure claims Vistra received from gas providers occurred before Texas’ grid operator began ordering power outages on Feb. 15, Chief Executive Officer Curt Morgan said during a conference call with analysts Monday. He added that some suppliers voluntarily curtailed electricity consumption during the storm and resold that power so they could capitalize on elevated prices.