[Ben Ficklin]

Most, if not all, of the problems with coal powered plants in Texas revolve around the leveraged buy-out of TXU to create Energy Future Holdings/Luminant in 2005-2006. That LBO was the largest in US history and was predicated on the price of natural gas staying high, which collapsed in 2008, leaving EFH with a very, very high debt to equity ratio. That is nature of LBOs aka vulture capitalism

Also, Obama threw them a curve ball. They didn't think that Obama would include Texas in the cross state pollution regs.

The underlying problem was/is using the lignite coal in east Texas and EFH was so broke they couldn't afford to switch to Powder River coal

Eventually EFH went into bankruptcy and has recently bought some court approved gas plants.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

...cross state pollution regs.

Yes. There's that too.

Thank you for that other information.