Vistra, Meta strike long-term nuclear power agreements, including at plants connected to the House Bill 6 scandal

Vistra announced long-term nuclear power agreements with Meta, renewing attention on Ohio’s nuclear plants, which are linked to the state’s corruption scandal tied to House Bill 6.

On Friday, Vistra announced that it had entered into 20-year power purchase agreements with Meta to supply more than 2,600 megawatts of zero-carbon nuclear energy from three plants in the PJM Interconnection: the Perry and Davis-Besse plants in Ohio and the Beaver Valley plant in Pennsylvania, according to a news release.

The agreements include 2,176 megawatts of existing generation and 433 megawatts of additional capacity from plant uprates, which Vistra described as “the largest nuclear uprates supported by a corporate customer in the United States.”

“This is a unique and exciting collaboration, and Vistra is proud to partner with Meta on these long-term power purchase agreements,” Jim Burke, Vistra’s president and CEO, said in a news release, adding that the deal ensures “the continued safe and reliable operation of Vistra’s Beaver Valley, Davis-Besse, and Perry nuclear power plants for decades to come.”

The Perry and Davis-Besse plants were connected to Ohio’s House Bill 6 scandal before Vistra owned the facilities. The 2019 law created a massive ratepayer-funded bailout to subsidize the two nuclear plants.

Prosecutors later called the bill the product of a $60 million bribery scheme involving former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and FirstEnergy.

As part of the federal investigation, then-owner FirstEnergy agreed to pay restitution to Ohio customers after admitting it used dark money payments to influence state officials in support of the bill, which kept Perry and Davis-Besse operating at the time.

FirstEnergy Solutions emerged from bankruptcy and rebranded as Energy Harbor. In 2023, Vistra announced its acquisition of Energy Harbor, and in March 2023, the deal closed after receiving approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, transferring ownership of Perry, Davis-Besse, and Beaver Valley to Vistra.

Vistra executives said the Meta agreements represent a shift away from government-backed subsidies toward private, market-based support.

“When we signed a deal to acquire these plants in 2023, Vistra saw their tremendous contribution — to the reliability of the grid, to the stability of the region, to their local communities,” Stacey Doré, Vistra’s chief strategy and sustainability officer, said in a news release.

Meta said that the deal was essential to its long-term energy needs.

“At Meta, we are investing in nuclear energy because it provides clean, reliable power that is essential for advancing our AI ambitions and strengthening American leadership in energy innovation,” Urvi Parekh, Meta’s head of global energy, said in a news release.

The agreement has drawn praise from elected officials in Ohio and Pennsylvania, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, who highlighted job retention, economic development, and grid reliability.

Americans for Prosperity-Ohio also praised the news.

“For years, Ohioans were told taxpayer bailouts were the only way to keep nuclear plants running,” AFP-OH State Director Donovan O’Neil said in a news release. “This announcement proves the opposite. The private sector is stepping up to modernize, operate, and expand nuclear generation without relying on taxpayer dollars or shifting costs onto residential customers.”