Entergy’s Montgomery County Power Station highlighted in recent tour by Texas comptroller

After reaching commercial operation in January 2021, Entergy Texas’ Montgomery County Power Station (MPCS) earned a spotlight this week as one of five stops along Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar’s Good for Texas Tour: Energy Edition.

That tour took Hegar to what the state deems to be key power institutions and sought to highlight the state’s challenges and successes alike in energy generation, management and planning – areas that have come under greater scrutiny in recent years, following the 2021 Texas power crisis that left several hundred dead. Montgomery came online before that collapse, and helped provide generation as the state struggled to keep up.

“The Montgomery County Power Station utilizes technology that provides efficient, dispatchable power,” Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said. “The plain truth is Texas needs natural-gas-fueled electric generation to ensure we have a diverse portfolio of energy sources that can meet the needs of our growing state regardless of weather conditions or the time of day.”

Montgomery provides 993 MW of natural gas-fueled energy – enough to power about 184,000 homes. In this regard, it’s in good company. The state relies extensively on natural gas, which accounts for more than 40 percent of Texas’ electric generating capacity and represents its single largest source. Montgomery is simply its newest facility.

“It was an honor to host Comptroller Hegar at MCPS and showcase how the plant continues to provide reliable, sustainable and lower-cost energy, including during extreme weather events,” Eliecer Viamontes, CEO and president of Entergy Texas, said. “We were equally proud to share our progress on another state-of-the-art facility under construction, the Orange County Advanced Power Station, which will yield 1,215 MW of natural gas to power more than 230,000 homes.”

As part of its Entergy Future Ready plan, Entergy also intends to invest more than $2 billion into replacements for aging generation and increased resiliency and capacity in southeast Texas, providing more facility in the vein of Montgomery.