Pio Pico Energy Center
Natural gas power plant · San Diego County, California
Details
- Primary fuel
- Natural gas
- Technology
- Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine
- Operator
- Pio Pico Energy Center LLC
- County
- San Diego County
- Generating units
- 3
- Share of state capacity
- 0.37%
- Rank among natural gas plants in California
- #33 of 309
- EIA plant code
- 57555
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTG1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | 132 MW | 106 MW | 2016 | Operating |
| CTG2 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | 132 MW | 106 MW | 2016 | Operating |
| CTG3 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | 132 MW | 106 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
| Kola Energy Center | Battery storage | 400 MW |
| Arica Solar | Solar | 399 MW |
| El Centro Hybrid | Natural gas | 388 MW |
| Magnolia Power Project | Natural gas | 388 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 395 MW solar plant and a 395 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