Colby — Plant Summary
- EIA Plant ID
- 1225
- Capacity
- 16 MW
- Primary Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Technology
- Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine
- Status
- Operating
- Location
- Thomas, KS
- Operating Since
- 1970
- Generators
- 1
- Operator
- Midwest Energy Inc - (KS)
- Parent Company
- —
- Annual Generation
- 1,247.55 MWh
- Capacity Factor
- 0.9%
- Balancing Authority
- Southwest Power Pool
- ISO/RTO
- SPP
- NERC Region
- MRO
Colby
OperatingNatural Gas
Ranked #38 of 60 Natural Gas plants in KS#1384 of 2009 nationally
16 MW Natural Gas operating in Thomas, KS — Southwest Power Pool
EIAWD
16 MW
Nameplate Capacity
1
Generators
unit
Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine
Technology
1970
Operating Since
Location
Coordinates
39.4030, -101.0382
County
Thomas, KS
Nearby Plants
- Midwest Energy Community Solar ArraySolar1 MW · 0.6 km
- Solomon Forks Wind Project, LLCWind275.6 MW · 12.3 km
- East Fork Wind Project, LLCWind195.8 MW · 13.5 km
Ownership & Operator
| Field | EIA | GEM | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Midwest Energy Inc - (KS) | — | — |
| Owner(s) | Midwest Energy Inc - (KS) | — | — |
| Status | Operating | — | — |
Ownership Chain
No GEM tracker match for this plant — ownership chain unavailable.
About
The Colby power plant, located in Thomas County, Kansas, is a 16 MW natural gas-fired combustion turbine facility. It began operating in 1970 and is owned and operated by Midwest Energy Inc. (KS). The plant is interconnected to the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) balancing authority and resides within the Midwest Reliability Organization (MRO) NERC region. Colby ranks as the 34th largest power plant in Kansas out of 53, and 1361st nationally out of 1963 plants.
In the most recent year with available data, Colby generated 1,248 MWh of electricity, resulting in a capacity factor of 0.9%. Financial data indicates an installed cost of $96.77 per kW. The financial information is sourced from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Generated from EIA, GEM, and public data sources
Engineering & Generators
Grid Context
NERC Region
MRO
Balancing Authority
Southwest Power Pool
Grid Voltage
115 kV
Regulatory Status
RE
Entity Type
Cooperative
Sector
Electric Utility
Generation
80 MWh
Latest Month
1.2K MWh
Annual Generation
0.9%
Capacity Factor
Jan 2022 – Dec 2024
Financial DataBeta
Source: FERC Form 1HIGH
$91/kW
Installed Cost
$366.6/MWh
Operating Cost
Midwest Energy Inc.
Reporting Utility
Annual Capital & Operating Expenses
Cumulative Installed Cost
Per-Unit Cost Trends
Pricing & Market Data
HIGH confidenceMarket Position
ISO/RTO Market
SPP
LMP Node
WR.MW.COLBY.MW
Pricing Hub
SPP North Hub
Node Source
EIA-860 direct report
News & Articles (10)Beta
Hazards·high wind
Red Flag Warning: Cheyenne; Rawlins; Decatur; Norton; Sherman; Thomas; Sheridan; Graham; Wallace; Logan; Gove; Greeley
Red Flag Warning issued March 21 at 8:17AM MDT until March 22 at 3:00AM MDT by NWS Goodland KS
NWS Goodland KS·5 days ago
Industry·corporate
Takeuchi adds dealer locations in central US
The compact equipment line now will be offered at eight Central Power Systems dealerships in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
Takeuchi (other)Central Power Systems (other)
Recycling Today·8 months ago
Hazards·tornado
Confirmed tornado touches down in Colby Thursday damaging buildings, power lines
Confirmed tornado touches down in Colby Thursday damaging buildings, power lines ... damaging buildings, power lines. Published: May 16, 2025 at 2:10 PM PDT.
WSAW·10 months ago
Industry·capacity addition
Ontario eyes large, new nuclear plant near Port Hope
Ontario is taking some preliminary steps toward potentially building a new nuclear generating station near Port Hope, Ont., that could be...
Ontario (other)
thecanadianpressnews.ca·1 years ago
Last updated 2026-03-21
View all 10 articles