The review was triggered after Eon failed to secure a supply contract from National Grid for the plant, rendering it “not economically viable”.
Eon UK chief executive Tony Cocker said the firm had “exhausted every possible option” to keep the plant open and the decision was “not taken lightly”.
“The reality, however, is that market conditions for both gas-fired electricity generation and coal-fired are very challenging and in this particular case too big to overcome which has resulted in 900 MW of generation capacity being permanently removed from the UK’s power network,” he said.
In March, Eon pulled Killingholme from the market ahead of the UK’s looming capacity crunch this winter, warning that it could make the closure permanent unless it secures a supply contract from National Grid.
However, the plant failed to secure a contract from National Grid in the second round of its supplemental balancing reserve (SBR) scheme this month, losing out to SSE and Centrica.