ERCOT said Wednesday that a retired gas-fired power plant is being brought back to life by its new owners.

The Texas grid operator said it received a notification that the Wharton County Generation plant, a 69-MW combustion turbine along the Texas Gulf Coast, would become operational as of Feb. 4. The plant was decommissioned and retired by Luminant in late 2020 after a forced outage.

However, after discussions with CenterPoint Energy, the interconnecting transmission service provider, ERCOT said the required studies and facility upgrades to return the unit to service will delay that targeted in-service date. Once the studies and upgrades have been completed, it will be allowed to return to service.

Luminant sold the plant in 2021. It is now owned by Phoenix Power Holdings, according to Texas regulatory filings.

In-person Meetings in March?

After initially planning to resume in-person stakeholder meetings in February, ERCOT also announced Wednesday that next month’s meetings will continue to be virtual.

In-person meetings will begin in March at its new headquarters building in the MetCenter office park in Austin. The new facility is being readied for occupancy, but ERCOT said it needs time to properly move in staff and ensure “all communication technologies are ready for effective stakeholder meetings.”

Travis County, in which Austin is located, has raised its COVID-19 guidelines to its highest threat level.