Latest news with #Vistra
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
UK companies lag in ECCTA compliance readiness
A study by Vistra has disclosed that a mere 28% of UK directors are prepared for the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA), with the smallest companies being the least prepared and none confirming readiness. The ECCTA mandates identity verification for all directors, persons of significant control (PSCs) and company filers by autumn 2025, yet less than 3% have complied so far. The ECCTA represents the most substantial reform to the UK's Companies House since 1844, introducing stringent requirements for identity verification and a new offence for failing to prevent fraud. Despite the impending changes and the risk of unlimited fines, Vistra's survey of 100 UK company directors reveals that 39% are unaware of the ECCTA deadlines. The act's enforcement could lead to disqualification of company officers and prohibit companies from filing documents or engaging in acquisitions. Larger practices demonstrated a greater degree of preparedness, with 37% indicating they are very prepared and 49% expressing confidence in their processes to meet the 'reasonable procedures' requirement of the new offence. However, the sentiment among companies is that the ECCTA is burdensome, with 58% holding this view and only 23% disagreeing. Vistra global director of entity management solutions Meg Ogunsola warns that many businesses are underestimating the ECCTA's scale and urgency. Ogunsola advises that acting early is crucial to avoid bottlenecks and severe financial penalties. She notes that Companies House will adopt a strict stance against non-compliant businesses and highlights the need for alternative solutions for overseas directors and those reliant on paper documents. 'Given the scale of the reforms and the administrative burden, it is no surprise that we are seeing many organisations seek specialist support to ensure they meet their obligations efficiently and effectively,' Ogunsola said. "UK companies lag in ECCTA compliance readiness" was originally created and published by International Accounting Bulletin, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Los Angeles Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
EPA OKs ‘unprecedented' cleanup plan for battery plant months after toxic Monterey County fire
Ever since a massive fire tore through one of the world's largest battery storage facilities in January, cleanup crews have been unable to safely access portions of the building that burned in rural Monterey County. The risk of reigniting a fire has been too high, preventing crews from starting the lengthy, dangerous removal of tens of thousands of lithium-ion batteries. Now, that process could soon begin. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced this week that it had reached an agreement regarding the battery removal with Texas-based Vistra Corp., which owns the battery energy storage system in Moss Landing that caught fire. The 75-page agreement, signed July 17, requires Vistra to submit detailed work plans to the EPA on all aspects of battery removal and to get the government's approval before it proceeds. 'Vistra will conduct and pay for the battery removal and disposal process under EPA's oversight,' Kazami Brockman, the EPA's on-scene coordinator, said during a Monterey County news briefing Wednesday. 'If the agreement is not performed to EPA's satisfaction, EPA does have the authority to take over the cleanup and bill Vistra for the cost.' Brockman added, 'We anticipate that this work will continue for over a year due to the technical complexity as well as the safety measures being put in place to protect the workers and the community.' In an email Wednesday night, Meranda Cohn, a Vistra spokeswoman, said 'battery removal could not occur until this agreement was in place.' The Moss Landing fire began Jan. 16. It smoldered for several days, spewing toxic gas into the air and prompting the evacuation of about 1,500 people. Firefighters let it burn, citing the dangers of dousing lithium-ion battery fires with water, which can cause dangerous chemical reactions. The fire ignited inside a former turbine building that contained a 300-megawatt system made up of about 4,500 cabinets, with each containing 22 individual battery modules, according to Vistra. Such battery systems store excess energy generated during the day and release it into the power grid during times of high demand, including evening hours. These facilities are seen as essential for stabilizing the state's electric grid and advancing the transition to cleaner energy because they can store solar and wind power to use when the sun isn't shining and turbines are not turning. But the Vistra fire also has exposed the dangers inherent with large-scale battery storage, prompting state and federal regulators to seek stronger safety protocols. Of the 99,000 individual LG battery modules in the building, about 54,450 burned, according to Vistra. On Feb. 18, the fire reignited and burned for several hours. Vistra wrote on its website that 'additional instances of smoke and flare-ups are a possibility given the nature of this situation and the damage to the batteries.' The damaged building — filled with burned and unaffected lithium-ion batteries — remains volatile, which has both slowed and complicated the cleanup. 'The challenge here is there are batteries in various states of charge, still being able to hold charge, all the way to completely consumed,' Brockman said. Over the last six months, crews have removed fire debris containing asbestos and disconnected safely accessible batteries to reduce the risk of reignition, according to the EPA. Some portions of the building have been 'completely inaccessible,' Ramon Albizu, the EPA's lead on-scene coordinator, said in an interview Thursday. He added that the 99,000 modules in the building suffered varying degrees of damage. 'We need to carefully, surgically demolish the building to be able to get to all the modules,' Albizu said. 'That requires a lot of planning.' Since the fire, the EPA, Vistra and other regulatory agencies have created more than 30 work plans related to the demolition and battery removal, he said. Work to stabilize the building should begin by the end of the month, he added. The Moss Landing fire ignited nine days after the start of the deadly Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles County. The EPA, under pressure from the Trump administration to work quickly in Southern California, removed about 300 tons of hazardous household debris — including more than 1,000 lithium-ion batteries — from the massive burn zones in Altadena and Pacific Palisades within 28 days. Albizu said the battery removal in Moss Landing differs greatly from the removal of smaller batteries in Southern California, many of which came from electric vehicles. In the Vistra building, each of the 99,000 batteries, he said, is about 4 feet long and weighs more than 200 pounds. 'It's something that is unprecedented,' Albizu said of the battery plant fire. Once each battery is removed, its remaining energy will be transferred to another source, according to the EPA. If the batteries are too damaged for that to be done, crews will discharge them through brining, during which they are submerged in a water-and-salt solution. The batteries then will be transported off-site for disposal, David Yeager, director of project development for Vistra, said during the Monterey County news briefing Wednesday. In a statement to The Times on Thursday, Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church, whose district includes Moss Landing, said he was 'disappointed it has taken this long to come to a point where cleanup can begin, but safety must be a priority.' According to Vistra, the cause of the blaze 'remains unknown' and is still under investigation by the company. The California Public Utilities Commission also has an ongoing investigation. The Vistra fire rocked California's clean energy industry and its plans for more battery plants, which state leaders are aggressively pursuing. In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal published Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom touted California's transition to renewable energy, writing that it was 'time for America to follow California's lead.' He wrote that the ability to store clean electricity was 'a key factor' in hitting clean energy goals and that, over the last six years, the state has added 15,000 megawatts of battery storage capacity, enough to meet a quarter of peak electricity demand. 'More is on the way,' Newsom wrote, 'including the largest battery project in the world, now being permitted in Fresno County through California's new fast-track permitting process.' Along with additional safety regulations for battery storage, the blaze has prompted calls for more local control over where storage sites are located. In a survey of nearby residents conducted by the Monterey and Santa Cruz counties' health departments, 83% of respondents said they experienced at least one symptom — most commonly headaches, sore throats and coughing — shortly after the fire. Nearly a quarter of respondents said they had trouble breathing, and 39% reported having a metallic taste in their mouth. The survey, conducted in February and March, polled 1,539 people who lived or worked in the region at the time of the fire. Knut Johnson, an attorney with the law firm Singleton Schreiber, said hundreds of nearby residents have joined a lawsuit against Vistra, LG Energy Solution and Pacific Gas & Electric, accusing the companies of failing to maintain adequate fire safety systems. Johnson said plaintiffs are 'very worried' about the batteries that remain on site. 'Those burned-up batteries still contain a lot of toxins,' Johnson said. 'The wind blows, the evening fog rolls in, suspending particles in the moisture — there's lots of ways for any remaining toxins to get around the community.' The fire should 'serve as a wake-up call,' Johnson said, for anyone wanting to build battery storage facilities near residential areas and sensitive ecosystems.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Vistra Corporation Rallied 40.6% in the First Half of 2025
Vistra is a utility that nevertheless moves along with the AI trade. Although Vistra's stock was hammered after China's DeepSeek release and Trump's trade war, the stock managed to rally over the course of six months on top of a blockbuster 2024. Vistra continued to project strong profit growth, acquiring even more power generation assets in the first half to supply growing AI demand. 10 stocks we like better than Vistra › Shares of Vistra Corporation (NYSE: VST) rallied 40.6% in the first half of the year, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Vistra had already rallied 258% in 2024, making its first half performance all the more remarkable. As one of only a few publicly traded power producers with existing nuclear capacity, which was augmented by last year's acquisition of Energy Harbor, Vistra has emerged as a presumptive artificial intelligence winner. Like many AI-related stocks, Vistra rallied almost to first-half highs in January, before the release of China's DeepSeek R1 and Trump's tariff war caused a major AI sell-off. Yet also like other AI winners, Vistra recovered as it delivered strong results and a strong outlook, with artificial intelligence and its associated electricity demand growth seemingly intact. While one doesn't think of utilities as high-growth stocks, electricity demand is reaccelerating because of AI data center growth. U.S. electricity demand has actually been relatively flat since 2009, because of energy efficiency initiatives. However, the International Energy Agency sees demand accelerating to 2% annualized growth. For its part, Vistra sees its load growth accelerating to a 4% growth rate through 2030. With the need to serve that increased demand in a low-carbon manner, that means nuclear energy is now in high demand. Vistra is one of just a few U.S. power producers that owns an existing nuclear capacity, especially after acquiring Energy Harbor in March 2024. With the acquisition, Vistra expanded its nuclear facilities from one to four, becoming the second-largest provider of nuclear power in the country. Last quarter, nuclear power accounted for 26% of the company's energy production. Thanks to more favorable weather dynamic, Vistra reported strong earnings in its first quarter of the year, with adjusted earnings per share of $1.15 beating expectations by a large $0.37 margin. Management also reiterated its adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) guidance for the year of $5.5 billion to $6.1 billion, with 2026 guidance of greater than $6 billion. About a week after Q1 earnings, Vistra also announced another acquisition, this time in the form of natural gas, when it acquired 2.6 GW of natural gas capacity from Lotus Infrastructure Partners, for $1.9 billion. Natural gas is Vistra's largest source of power generation, at 54% last quarter, and this acquisition will add to that. With natural gas and nuclear seemingly the big winners from renewed electricity demand because of AI, Vistra seems very well-positioned. Vistra's management has projected free cash flow of $3.0 to $3.6 billion this year before growth investments against a current market cap of $66 billion, making Vistra trade around 20 times free cash flow. That actually appears a reasonable valuation if Vistra can continue growing steadily and landing more deals with artificial intelligence data centers in the years ahead. However, if regulatory hurdles pop up or AI scaling stalls for any reason, the company could quickly lose its AI premium. Before you buy stock in Vistra, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Vistra wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $671,477!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,010,880!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,047% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 14, 2025 Billy Duberstein and/or his clients have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Vistra Corporation Rallied 40.6% in the First Half of 2025 was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Vistra to Report Second Quarter Results on Aug. 7, 2025
IRVING, Texas, July 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Vistra (NYSE: VST) plans to report its second quarter 2025 financial and operating results on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, during a live conference call and webcast beginning at 9 a.m. ET (8 a.m. CT). The live webcast can be accessed via Vistra's website at under "Investor Relations" and then "Events & Presentations." Participants can also listen by phone by registering here prior to the start time of the call to receive a conference call dial-in number. A replay of the webcast will be available on Vistra's website for one year following the call. About Vistra Vistra (NYSE: VST) is a leading Fortune 500 integrated retail electricity and power generation company based in Irving, Texas, that provides essential resources to customers, businesses, and communities from California to Maine. Vistra is a leader in transforming the energy landscape, with an unyielding focus on reliability, affordability, and sustainability. The company safely operates a reliable, efficient power generation fleet of natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, and battery energy storage facilities while taking an innovative, customer-centric approach to its retail business. Learn more at View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Vistra Corp Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UK reversal of Companies House reforms may affect SMEs
The UK government is considering a reversal of the planned Companies House reforms that would have required small businesses (SMEs) to file accounts using compliant software by 1 April 2027. This sudden policy shift is likely to impact SMEs' accounting practices. This shift has been acknowledged by Meg Ogunsola, global director of Entity Management Solutions at Vistra, as a significant reminder of the difficulties in implementing new regulations that are both practical and protective for businesses. Ogunsola emphasises the importance of smaller firms working with knowledgeable partners to manage the uncertainty of evolving regulations and maintain compliance without undue hardship. Despite the potential reversal, she supports the measures under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA). She also cautions businesses to prepare for the mandatory ID verification for directors, PSCs, and LLP members, which is expected to be enforced this autumn. Meg Ogunsola said: "The Government's potential U-turn on Companies House reforms for filing rules highlights the complexity of drafting and introducing regulations, and the tricky balancing act of protecting and overburdening firms. These complexities demonstrate the need for companies, particularly smaller ones, to partner with suppliers that can help them navigate regulatory uncertainty, reduce operational strain, and support compliance.' She added: "Despite this change, the ECCTA remains critical in the UK's fight against fraud, and with mandatory ID verification coming into force this autumn, businesses must act now to ensure they are prepared." "UK reversal of Companies House reforms may affect SMEs" was originally created and published by International Accounting Bulletin, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
