El Centro Hybrid
Natural gas power plant · Imperial County, California
Details
- Primary fuel
- Natural gas
- Technology
- Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle
- Operator
- Imperial Irrigation District
- County
- Imperial County
- Generating units
- 7
- Share of state capacity
- 0.36%
- Rank among natural gas plants in California
- #34 of 309
- EIA plant code
- 389
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2A | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | 90 MW | 73 MW | 1993 | Operating |
| 4 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | 82 MW | 68 MW | 1968 | Operating |
| 30 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | 66 MW | 42 MW | 2012 | Operating |
| 31 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | 43 MW | 39 MW | 2012 | Operating |
| 32 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | 43 MW | 39 MW | 2012 | Operating |
| 2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | 35 MW | 33 MW | 1952 | Operating |
| BESS | Batteries | 30 MW | 30 MW | 2016 | Operating |
Nameplate is the maximum rated output; summer capacity is what the unit can reliably deliver on a hot day, which is typically lower.
Similarly sized plants in California
| Arica Solar | Solar | 399 MW |
| Pio Pico Energy Center | Natural gas | 395 MW |
| Magnolia Power Project | Natural gas | 388 MW |
| Oberon II Solar Project | Solar | 375 MW |
About this data
From EIA’s inventory of operable generators, May 2026 release. Capacity is nameplate — the maximum rated output of the equipment, not what the plant actually generates over a year, which depends on how often it runs. A 388 MW solar plant and a 388 MW nuclear plant have the same entry here and produce very different amounts of electricity.
“In service since” is the earliest in-service date among the units still listed, so a site rebuilt around newer equipment can read as younger than the site itself. All California power plants · What California actually generates