1 dead in incident at Oak Grove Power Station on Monday

The identity of the deceased has not been released. According to an official with the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office, the cause of the incident is under investigation.

“We are shocked and saddened by the loss of our friend and teammate,” officials from plant owner Luminant said in a statement. “We extend our deepest condolences to his family and everyone who loves him.” We are working to understand what happened this morning. Our immediate focus is on the family and the well-being of our employees. Our team members are being provided with on-site counseling and other resources to help them cope with this difficult loss.”

The Oak Grove Power Plant is located on FM 979, approximately 12 miles east of Bremond and 12 miles northwest of Franklin.

This is the second time in a week that an incident has occurred at the facility site and the second time in the last year that someone has died in an incident at the facility.

On May 6, five people were injured after a silo owned and operated by a third party collapsed at the facility. One person was taken to hospital by helicopter and the other four by ambulance. The plant itself was not affected and remained operational throughout.

In May 2023, a Georgia man died in a steam engine explosion at the power plant. The man was a contractor and the incident occurred during the commissioning of a new auxiliary boiler.

There have also been further incidents at the plant in recent years. In February 2023, KBTX reported that four contract workers were taken to a Temple hospital because of possible exposure to a dangerous chemical. In 2016, a transformer exploded at the plant, prompting first responders from Robertson County and Bremond to respond. No injuries were reported during the incident.

Luminant owns the 1,600-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Robertson County, a subsidiary of Vistra, and generates 39,000 megawatts of electricity in 12 states. The plant opened in 2010 with two boilers, each generating 800 megawatts using brown coal from a nearby mine, but had been under construction since the 1970s. Project plans and permits were withdrawn in 1994 but renewed and revised in 2005. Construction of the facility began in 2007.