Merchant power boom and bust (1999–2002)
Electricity deregulation in the late 1990s unleashed a wave of speculative gas-fired plant construction led by Enron, Calpine, and Dynegy. Trading scandals and overcapacity collapsed wholesale power prices by 2002.
Enron filed for bankruptcy in December 2001; Calpine followed in December 2005. Billions of dollars in merchant plants were written down.
The bust stalled new gas generation for a decade and pushed the industry toward contracted, credit-backed power deals.
Today's buildout is anchored to confirmed contracts from data centers rather than speculative forecasts. ArcLight and Invenergy are betting that this time the demand is real.
