Frequently Asked Questions

On Thursday, Jan. 16, we detected a fire at our Moss Landing 300 energy storage facility at the Moss Landing Power Plant Site. Company personnel immediately responded, and the North Monterey County Fire District was quickly dispatched to the scene. The fire was contained to the Moss 300 building, which is one of several buildings at the Moss Landing Power Plant and did not spread to any of the other energy storage facilities or the combined-cycle natural gas plant located on site. 

Conditions at the site remain stable at this time, and crews continue to monitor the site in coordination with local officials. We are immensely grateful for their swift response to this event.  

The cause of the January 16 fire remains unknown, and suggestions as to its cause or contributing factors are speculation. We are currently conducting a thorough, methodical investigation into the cause and have retained multiple outside experts who are assisting in this effort.

The ongoing cleanup and recovery efforts will also advance the investigation, as we will gain additional access to damaged portions of the building. Investigations like these take time, and we ask for your patience as our teams examine a myriad of data points to understand what happened.  

Air quality monitoring during and after the incident confirmed that there are no hazardous air conditions or risks to public health. These findings have been confirmed by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Monterey Bay Air Resources District.

Additionally, soil sampling from California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and the Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health (CTEH) found that metal levels in the area were consistent with historical data and do not pose a risk to human health or agriculture.

For more information about environmental impacts, click here.

Like many of our neighbors and friends, Moss Landing is our home, and we’re committed to working closely with our community partners and local officials to determine how we can best help. 

For businesses impacted by the incident, Vistra established claims program for business disruptions. The program is run by an experienced third-party claims administrator and covers businesses that are in the evacuation zone or are located at or operate out of the Moss Landing Harbor. Click here for more information.

Vistra also partnered with the Community Foundation for Monterey County, United Way Monterey County, and the Castro Plaza Family Resource Center to administer an assistance program that supported households who were evacuated during the January 16 incident. We’re grateful to our partners for their support, expertise, and hard work in making the program a success.

In addition to the battery facilities at Moss Landing (Moss-300, Moss-100, Moss-350), Vistra owns and operates a 1,020-megawatt combined-cycle natural gas plant (CCGT).

The natural gas plant was safely manually shut down and taken offline on Jan. 16 due to the evacuation orders issued at the time. After a careful assessment and inspection of the impacted and surrounding buildings, it has been determined that it is safe for the natural gas plant to resume operations. 

The natural gas plant is located in an entirely separate area of the property and, importantly, operates independent of the Moss 300 battery facility that was impacted by the fire. 

Moss Landing Power Plant is located in a designated local capacity area. This means that the plant has a key role in supporting local reliability during certain periods. To that end, we have made the grid operator CAISO aware that the plant is available for dispatch.

Vistra is currently evaluating the restart of the containerized Moss 350MW BESS facility.  This work is ongoing, and updates will be provided as progress is made.

Vistra has no plans to restart the Moss 100MW BESS facility at this time.

Any restart would be done in consultation and coordination with appropriate regulatory bodies. 

No, this is the first fire at any of our battery installations. We experienced two overheating events, one in 2021 and one in 2022, caused by a malfunction in the facility’s fire suppression system where a release of water caused electrical shorting and overheating on a portion of our batteries. However, neither occurrence led to fire, as there can be smoke without fire as it relates to battery incidents. These events were controlled and had no impact on the general public. See more information here.

Yes. Vistra engaged with multiple experts, including battery experts, fire experts, and local officials to create a site emergency response and emergency action plan for our Moss Landing battery energy storage facility.  The plan, created in 2022, complies with the State of California’s SB 38, enacted in 2023. Click here to view the full plan.