Twenty Years, One Reactor, One BuyerWide moat
Vistra (VST) — moat facet
Amazon contracted 1,200 megawatts of Comanche Peak, which is exactly one reactor, for up to forty years.
In September 2025 Vistra agreed to supply Amazon Web Services with 1,200 megawatts of carbon-free power from the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant under a twenty-year power purchase agreement, with options to extend for up to a further twenty years. Delivery begins in the fourth quarter of 2027 and ramps to full capacity by 20321.
Twelve hundred megawatts is exactly the net capacity of one Comanche Peak unit2. In substance, a hyperscaler has contracted an entire reactor for a period that may run to forty years.
What makes this different from an ordinary offtake is the specificity. A data centre operator committing to twenty years of power from a named nuclear plant is not buying a commodity; it is buying the attribute that the power is firm and carbon-free and cannot be procured elsewhere in that quantity. The premium in the contract, whatever it is — the terms are not disclosed — reflects a scarcity that both parties expect to persist.
For Vistra the effect on the risk profile is larger than the effect on the revenue. Comanche Peak's output was previously sold into ERCOT, an energy-only market with an administratively capped price3 and no revenue for merely being available. Half of it is now a twenty-year receivable from Amazon.
The obvious question is what the other 1,200 megawatts of Comanche Peak are for, and the obvious answer is that they remain available to be contracted. The company has said it continues to engage with counterparties about long-term arrangements4. Each further contract narrows the merchant exposure and the optionality at the same time.
An entire Comanche Peak unit contracted for twenty years with options to extend by twenty more, removing price risk on that output for a period longer than most investors' horizons.
The reactor sold for twenty years must also be funded to its end; the trust staying above the obligation means the long contract carries no hidden liability.
Source: Vistra Form 10-Q, quarter ended 30 June 2026 ↗- ReportedDelivery begins in the fourth quarter of 2027 and ramps to full capacity by 2032Vistra secures long-term nuclear PPA from Comanche Peak (Power Engineering) — a 20-year power purchase agreement with Amazon Web Services, with options to extend for up to an additional 20 years, to supply 1,200 MW of carbon-free power from the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant; power delivery is anticipated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2027 and to ramp to full capacity by 2032 — September 2025 · publ. September 2025 · source ↗
- ReportedTwelve hundred megawatts is exactly the net capacity of one Comanche Peak unitVistra secures long-term nuclear PPA from Comanche Peak (Power Engineering) — a 20-year power purchase agreement with Amazon Web Services, with options to extend for up to an additional 20 years, to supply 1,200 MW of carbon-free power from the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant; power delivery is anticipated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2027 and to ramp to full capacity by 2032 — September 2025 · publ. September 2025 · source ↗
- ReportedComanche Peak's output was previously sold into ERCOT, an energy-only market with an administratively capped price and no revenue for merely being availableVistra Corp. Form 10-K, FY2025, market discussion — "ERCOT is an ISO that manages the flow of electricity from approximately 83,707 MW of 2025 peak demand to approximately 27 million Texas customers, representing approximately 90% of the state's electric load"; "PJM is an RTO that manages the flow of electricity from approximately 160,709 MW of peak 2025 demand to approximately 67 million customers" across thirteen states and the District of Columbia; "if a less efficient natural gas unit is needed to meet demand, its offer price sets the market clearing price for all dispatched generation in that market, regardless of other units' offer prices"; prices "vary within different zones due to transmission losses and congestion"; under the PUCT-approved Emergency Pricing Program the system-wide offer cap temporarily falls to $2,000/MWh if prices have been at the cap for 12 hours in a rolling 24-hour period, and the maximum point on each ASDC is reduced to $2,000/MWh for the remainder of the calendar year once the Cost of New Entry reference price is exceeded — FY2025 · publ. February 2026 · source ↗
- ReportedThe company has said it continues to engage with counterparties about long-term arrangementsVistra Corp. Form 10-K, FY2025, Item 1 Business — "The Company brings its products and services to market in 18 states and the District of Columbia, including all major competitive wholesale power markets in the U.S. We serve approximately 5 million residential, commercial, and industrial retail customers with electricity and natural gas. Our generation fleet totals approximately 44,000 megawatts of generation capacity powered by a diverse portfolio, including natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, and battery energy storage facilities"; the integrated model "enables us to structure products and contracts in a way that offers significant value compared to stand-alone retail electric providers"; five reportable segments — Retail, Texas, East, West and Sunset, plus Asset Closure; retail investors served through TXU Energy in ERCOT, Homefield Energy in MISO and Public Power in PJM, ISO-NE, NYISO and MISO — FY2025 · publ. February 2026 · source ↗
- Vistra Corp. Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025 (SEC EDGAR)
- Vistra secures long-term nuclear PPA from Comanche Peak (Power Engineering)