IRVING, Texas, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Vistra (NYSE:
VST) published today its 2019 Annual Sustainability Report, which
adopts for the first time the Sustainable Accounting Standards
Board (SASB) and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) frameworks. In
addition, the report highlights Vistra's environmental, social, and
governance (ESG) initiatives and accomplishments for the 2019
reporting period, including:
Emissions Reductions
- Achieving a 39% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since
2010, meaning that Vistra has realized 78% of its target to reduce
Scope 1 CO2 equivalent emissions by more than 50% by
2030.
- Retiring four coal plants totaling approximately 2,000
megawatts (MWs) in Illinois and
announcing plans to retire a fifth coal plant of 585 MWs by
year-end 2022, which will further advance Vistra's progress toward
its 2030 emissions reduction target. Vistra has retired nearly
13,000 MWs of coal-fueled plants since 2010 and plans to retire an
additional approximately 7,000 MWs before 2030.
- Joining as a founding member the Climate Leadership Council
("CLC"), an international policy institute created in collaboration
with prominent business, opinion, and environmental leaders to
promote a carbon dividends framework as the most cost-effective,
equitable, and politically viable climate solution.
Safety
- Introducing a new name, logo, and motto for the company's
mindset around safety: Best Defense, which was derived from
guidance by national workplace safety expert Dr. Todd Conklin, who has said, "Safety is not the
absence of events. Safety is the presence of defenses."
- Implementing, in 2020, early adoption of a variety of new
procedures to keep our employees and contractors safe while
maintaining our essential business operations in the wake of
COVID-19. After 86 spring power plant maintenance outages, Vistra
has not had one employee or contractor become infected with the
COVID-19 virus at its work sites.
Renewable and No-Carbon Energy
- Continuing development of nearly 450 MWs of battery storage and
with a pipeline of approximately 3,000 MWs of additional solar and
battery storage projects in Texas
and California.
- Supporting Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Act in Illinois, including converting coal generation
sites to solar and energy storage, advancing the state's clean
energy goals, and benefiting multiple downstate Illinois communities.
- Offering more than 40 renewable-based plans to our retail
electricity customers.
- Introducing a 10-year view of the company, estimating that
nearly 20% of Vistra's EBITDA and generation capacity will be
derived from renewable assets by 2030.
Caring for Our Communities
- Supporting our local communities across 11 states with more
than $3.5 million in charitable
giving in 2019.
- Donating $2 million to
communities in need in 2020 in light of hardships brought on by
COVID-19 through donations to non-profits and social service
agencies.
"The importance of electricity has never been more pronounced
than it is today. Vistra is committed to providing affordable and
reliable power to our nearly 5 million retail customers while also
minimizing our impact on the environment, supporting our customers
and the communities where we operate, and keeping our employees
safe and healthy," said Curt Morgan,
Vistra's president and CEO. "Since becoming a public company in
2016, Vistra has transformed its electricity generation portfolio
from one that produced 70% of its output from coal to one that
contributes less than 20% of its earnings from coal while also
investing heavily in solar and battery storage facilities, with
more to come. We are committed to being a leader in the climate
change effort and have our sights set on reaching net-zero carbon
emissions by 2050, which can be achieved through the continued
rotation of our generation base, supportive public policy, and
technological advancements."
In addition to being an industry leader in the effort to address
climate change, Vistra strives for excellence in employee safety,
supply chain and employee diversity, community impact, and the
customer experience. Vistra's 2019 Annual Sustainability Report
addresses these topics and more. For additional information about
our 2019 ESG initiatives and to download a copy of the report,
please visit the Vistra website at
vistraenergy.com/sustainability.
Media
Meranda Cohn
214-875-8004
Media.Relations@vistraenergy.com
Analysts
Molly Sorg
214-812-0046
Investor@vistraenergy.com
About Vistra
Vistra (NYSE: VST) is a premier, integrated, Fortune 275
energy company based in Irving,
Texas, providing essential resources for customers,
commerce, and communities. Vistra combines an innovative,
customer-centric approach to retail with safe, reliable, diverse,
and efficient power generation. The company brings its products and
services to market in 20 states and the District of Columbia, including six of the
seven competitive wholesale markets in the U.S. and markets in
Canada and Japan, as well. Serving nearly 5 million
residential, commercial, and industrial retail customers with
electricity and natural gas, Vistra is the largest competitive
residential electricity provider in the country and offers over 40
renewable energy plans. The company is also the largest competitive
power generator in the U.S. with a capacity of approximately 39,000
megawatts powered by a diverse portfolio including natural
gas, nuclear, solar, and battery energy storage facilities. In
addition, the company is a large purchaser of wind power. The
company is currently constructing a 400-MW/1,600-MWh battery energy
storage system in Moss Landing,
California, which will be the largest of its kind in the
world when it comes online. Vistra is guided by four core
principles: we do business the right way, we work as a team, we
compete to win, and we care about our stakeholders including
our customers, our communities where we work and live,
our employees, and our investors. Learn more about our
environmental, social, and governance efforts and read the
company's sustainability report
at https://www.vistraenergy.com/sustainability/
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
The information presented herein includes
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements, which are based on current expectations, estimates and
projections about the industry and markets in which Vistra Energy
Corp. ("Vistra") operates and beliefs of and assumptions made by
Vistra's management, involve risks and uncertainties, which are
difficult to predict and are not guarantees of future performance,
that could significantly affect the financial results of Vistra.
All statements, other than statements of historical facts, that are
presented herein, or in response to questions or otherwise, that
address activities, events or developments that may occur in the
future, including such matters as activities related to our
financial or operational projections, the potential impacts of the
COVID-19 pandemic on our results of operations, financial condition
and cash flows, projected synergy, value lever and net debt
targets, capital allocation, capital expenditures, liquidity,
projected Adjusted EBITDA to free cash flow conversion rate,
dividend policy, business strategy, competitive strengths, goals,
future acquisitions or dispositions, development or operation of
power generation assets, market and industry developments and the
growth of our businesses and operations (often, but not always,
through the use of words or phrases, or the negative variations of
those words or other comparable words of a future or
forward-looking nature, including, but not limited to: "intends,"
"plans," "will likely," "unlikely," "believe," "confident",
"expect," "seek," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "will,"
"shall," "should," "could," "may," "might," "predict," "project,"
"forecast," "target," "potential," "goal," "objective," "guidance"
and "outlook"),are forward-looking statements. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements. Although Vistra believes that in making any such
forward-looking statement, Vistra's expectations are based on
reasonable assumptions, any such forward-looking statement involves
uncertainties and risks that could cause results to differ
materially from those projected in or implied by any such
forward-looking statement, including, but not limited to: (i)
adverse changes in general economic or market conditions (including
changes in interest rates) or changes in political conditions or
federal or state laws and regulations; (ii) the ability of Vistra
to execute upon the contemplated strategic and performance
initiatives and to successfully integrate acquired businesses;
(iii) actions by credit ratings agencies; (iv) the severity,
magnitude and duration of pandemics, including the COVID-19
pandemic, and the resulting effects on our results of operations,
financial condition and cash flows; and (v) those additional risks
and factors discussed in reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission by Vistra from time to time, including the
uncertainties and risks discussed in the sections entitled "Risk
Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements" in Vistra's annual report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2019 and any subsequently filed quarterly reports on Form
10-Q.
Any forward-looking statement speaks only at the date on which
it is made, and except as may be required by law, Vistra will not
undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to
reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made
or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors
emerge from time to time, and it is not possible to predict all of
them; nor can Vistra assess the impact of each such factor or the
extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause
results to differ materially from those contained in any
forward-looking statement.
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SOURCE Vistra