NEW YORK, May 24 (Reuters): Vistra Energy Corp and Dominion Energy Inc - which serve about 5.5 million electricity customers in more than a dozen US states - both say they are done building combined-cycle natural gas-fired power plants.
Instead, they are building large solar plants, which offer plentiful and inexpensive electricity.
This bearish view of fossil-fuel energy, reflective of a growing acceptance by utilities of renewable power sources, poses a hurdle to John Flannery's plan to turn around General Electric Co's $35 billion-a-year power unit.
GE's chief executive spelled out the difficulty on Wednesday. Power profits will be flat this year after falling 53 per cent in 2017, he said, and GE is planning that demand for heavy-duty natural gas power plants will be less than half what it forecast just over a year ago, and will stay at that level through 2020.
New plant sales are "going to be tough," Flannery said at an investor conference on Wednesday.
"This is not going to be a quick fix, but there is, at the end of the day, long-life assets here with intrinsic economic value. We're going to make the most of what we have there."
GE's power unit fights for growth
FE Team | Published: May 25, 2018 00:26:14
GE's power unit fights for growth
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