Based on the Entergy Texas announcement of October 14, 2026.
On October 14, Entergy Texas placed its Orange County Advanced Power Station into service in Orange, Texas. The 1,215-megawatt plant sits next to the company's Sabine Power Plant and can generate enough electricity for more than 230,000 homes, according to the company.
The number that explains how it got built is 7,000. That is how many jobs the project supported during construction, per Entergy Texas. The company puts the plant's economic activity in the region at about $1.8 billion.
People in the industry call it OCAPS. In the Golden Triangle, it is a payroll story first.
Three Years From Groundbreaking to Service
Ground broke on April 25, 2023. Nearly 200 people came out for it, including Governor Greg Abbott, who called the plant a "Texas-sized investment" that would keep reliable power in Southeast Texas "for generations to come."
The engineering, procurement and construction work went to a consortium of Mitsubishi Power Americas, Sargent & Lundy and The Industrial Company, known as TIC. Mitsubishi Power supplied two M501JAC gas turbines, a steam turbine and a heat recovery steam generator, according to reporting by Sean Wolfe at Power Engineering.
A combined cycle plant at this scale is built by the trades, from pipefitters and welders to electricians and millwrights. That work runs for years, and it pays.
The local spending started before the first shovel. In 2021, while the project was still in front of regulators, Entergy Texas and TIC held a supplier session for local and diverse vendors from across Texas and the Gulf Coast. The company said the openings ran "from janitorial services to engineering." By November 2025, construction was more than 80% complete, and project director Keith Pollock said the team was "incredibly excited to see this project entering its final stretch."
The Team That Runs It Now
Construction crews move on to the next job. A plant like this keeps a permanent team. Entergy Texas said in 2025 that OCAPS would support 27 permanent roles once it was running. Those are the people who start the units, watch the controls and keep the equipment turning around the clock.
What they are running is a modern plant. Combined cycle technology captures heat that would otherwise go up the stack and uses it to make more electricity from the same amount of fuel. Operators can raise or lower output quickly to match what customers are using, which matters most on the hottest summer afternoons and the coldest winter mornings.
Mitsubishi Power has said the plant could eventually run on up to 100% hydrogen, per Power Engineering. That gives the site, and the people who work there, a long runway.
Orange Mayor Larry Spears Jr. put the local stakes plainly. "OCAPS is a significant addition for The Golden Triangle area, a region that faces everything from winter storms to hurricanes," he said in the company's announcement. "It's the kind of investment that helps a community keep moving forward, gives businesses confidence to grow and creates opportunities for the people who call this place home."
Why Southeast Texas Needs the Power
The plant was built for growth. Texas added more residents than any other state between 2024 and 2025, and Southeast Texas keeps drawing business and industrial development, according to Entergy Texas. The company expects electricity demand across its service area to grow by about 13% between 2024 and 2028.
Entergy Texas serves about 524,000 customers in 27 counties. Plants, refineries, ports and the families who work at them all count on the same grid.
"OCAPS is yet another way that we're making sure Texas families and businesses have the energy and infrastructure they need to succeed," said David Borde, CEO of Entergy Texas. "Today is a huge milestone for our communities, and a big step toward the stronger and more resilient energy future Southeast Texas needs to thrive."
More Builds on the Calendar
OCAPS is one of several investments in the company's Southeast Texas Energy Plan, which Entergy Texas calls STEP Ahead. Two more power plants are approved.
In September 2025, the Public Utility Commission of Texas approved the Legend Power Station in Port Arthur and the Lone Star Power Station near Cleveland. Legend is a $1.6 billion project sized to power more than 190,000 homes. Lone Star is a $799 million project sized for more than 110,000 homes. Together, Entergy Texas said, the two plants will produce about $2.8 billion in economic activity and more than 9,000 construction jobs, with both targeted to be running by mid-2028.
The plan also includes new and stronger transmission lines and other upgrades to make the grid more resilient. Line work, substation work and plant work all draw on the same regional pool of skilled labor.
What It Means for Workers
Add it up and Southeast Texas has a multiyear pipeline of power plant construction in front of it. One plant done, with 7,000 jobs behind it and a permanent crew on shift. Two more in the works, with more than 9,000 construction jobs projected between them.
For a welder in Beaumont, an apprentice electrician in Port Arthur or a young operator thinking about a career in plant work, that is steady demand for the next several years. When a region grows, the hiring starts with the utility that commits to the build.
More on the projects ahead is at EntergyTexas.com/StepAhead.
Sources
- Entergy Texas, "Entergy Texas' Orange County Advanced Power Station begins delivering reliable power to Southeast Texas," October 14, 2026, as carried by BIC Magazine
- Sean Wolfe, "Entergy Texas' 1.2 GW CCGT plant is now online," Power Engineering, October 16, 2026. Link
- Entergy, "Entergy Texas breaks ground on Orange County Advanced Power Station," April 2023. Link
- Entergy, "Entergy Texas' Orange County Advanced Power Station: Progressing to power Southeast Texas," February 2025. Link
- Entergy, "Construction nears completion on Entergy Texas' Orange County Advanced Power Station," November 2025. Link
- Entergy, "Powering the Future Through Local Businesses," November 2021. Link
- Entergy Texas, "Entergy Texas receives PUCT approval for two power plants to support Southeast Texas growth," September 11, 2025. Link
