Tenaska Gateway Generating Station Celebrates 25 Years of Operation in Rusk County

LONG BRANCH, Texas, May 15, 2026 – Tenaska Gateway Generating Station (Tenaska Gateway) celebrated 25 years of safe and reliable operations on May 13, marking the anniversary with a luncheon at the plant that welcomed roughly 100 guests – employees and their families, community leaders, business partners, and state and federal representatives.

Tenaska Gateway has been generating power for homes and businesses across the region since 2001, when the natural gas-fueled plant first came online.

“For 25 years, the Tenaska Gateway team has kept reliable power flowing to the grid while maintaining safe and reliable operations and investing in the local community,” said Chris Leitner, President and CEO of Tenaska. “We couldn’t be prouder of what this team has built, and we are excited for what the next 25 years will bring.”

At the heart of that legacy is the plant’s workforce. Of Gateway’s 28 full-time employees, eight have been part of the team since the very beginning. Together, they’ve built a workplace defined by reliability, integrity, and genuine investment in the people and community around them.

“It’s not just a facility we’ve built, it’s a team, a track record, and a real connection to this part of Texas,” said Gary Skidmore, Plant Manager at Tenaska Gateway. “That’s what 25 years looks like when people show up and take pride in what they do.”

The plant’s impact on the Rusk County region is significant. Since 2001, Tenaska Gateway has contributed more than $75 million in employee salaries and more than $60 million in local property taxes to the region, along with hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships for students in the surrounding communities.

The plant also celebrated its impeccable safety record. Since beginning commercial operations, Tenaska Gateway employees have worked more than 1.5 million hours without a lost-time incident. In 2018, the facility earned recognition from OSHA as a Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star worksite, the nation’s highest safety designation. The plant was successfully recertified in 2024.

Tenaska Gateway has the capacity to generate 845 megawatts, enough to power approximately 830,000 homes, and has produced nearly 90 million megawatt-hours of electricity to date. Its output plays a key role in grid reliability, supplying both the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the Southwest Power Pool (SPP).

The Tenaska Gateway plant is owned by Tenaska Gateway Partners, Ltd., and is comprised of affiliates of Tenaska and Tyr Energy Inc.

About Tenaska

Tenaska is a leading energy company with business operations that span the energy value chain. Tenaska Marketing Ventures (TMV) and Tenaska Power Services Co. (TPS) are among the largest natural gas and electric power marketing companies in North America. The company has an operating fleet of 6,622 megawatts (MW) of natural gas and renewable generating facilities and has developed, managed and/or operated more than 23,000 MW of natural gas-fueled and renewable generation. Tenaska is also advancing more than 9,000 MW of natural gas-fueled generation and a portfolio of energy storage projects. For more information, visit Tenaska.com.

Media Contact

Leighton Eusebio
Office: 402-691-9534
Mobile: 603-571-0285
leusebio@tenaska.com