Constellation Energy Retires 1.4-Gigawatt Natural Gas Power Plant in New England: EIA

Constellation Energy has shut down its Mystic Generating Station, a natural gas-fired power plant located in Massachusetts. Mystic is one of the nation’s oldest power plants that has supplied electricity to the Boston area since the 1940s, according to a June 24 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The company retired the Mystic plant on May 31, but will keep the Everett liquefied natural gas terminal, which supplied 100 percent of the plant’s natural gas, open through winter 2029–2030. Last year, all of the 13.3 billion cubic feet of LNG imports shipped  into the New England region went to the Everett terminal. Everett will remain open under six-year supply contracts to serve other New England customers.

Mystic Generating Station had 1,413 megawatts of combined cycle gas turbine capacity and was managed by the Independent System Operator New England (ISO-NE). In 2018 it was decided that the station was expected to retire by June 1, 2022 as the owners of the plant at the time, Elexon, could no longer run the plant profitably. However, ISO-NE recognized that the plant was vital for energy security and system reliability and as a result required the power plant to remain operational from June 1,2022 through May 31,2024.

Following its original filing for retirement in 2018, the Mystic Generating Station produced around 20 percent of its capacity. The station has functioned as a peaking plant over the past five years, operating principally during peak load periods in the winter and summer when demand is at its highest for heating and air conditioning.

Constellation Energy had originally planned to also retire the Everett LNG regasification facility along with the Mystic Generating Station, as the LNG terminal was created to fulfill the gas demand for Mystic Generating Station. The Everett facility also supplies gas to other customers and the potential decline of natural gas from the facility especially during winter periods was a concern. As a result, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities authorized new supply contracts with three New England utilities to provide gas from June 2024 up until May 2030. The approval of these contracts authorizes Constellation Energy to keep the Everett LNG facility operational.

The decision to keep the Everett LNG facility operational will help reduce price volatility for both gas and power in the winter periods, since price spikes in New England are common due to pipeline constraints usually limiting gas supply into the region.