Rio Grande — Plant Summary
- EIA Plant ID
- 2444
- Capacity
- 398.3 MW
- Primary Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Technology
- Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine, Natural Gas Steam Turbine
- Status
- Operating
- Location
- Dona Ana, NM
- Operating Since
- 1957
- Generators
- 4
- Operator
- El Paso Electric Co
- Parent Company
- Sun Jupiter Holdings
- Annual Generation
- 789,796 MWh
- Capacity Factor
- 22.5%
- Balancing Authority
- El Paso Electric Company
- ISO/RTO
- —
- NERC Region
- WECC
Rio Grande
OperatingNatural GasHybrid
Ranked #5 of 20 Natural Gas plants in NM#548 of 2009 nationally
398.3 MW Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine (132 MW) + Natural Gas Steam Turbine (267 MW) operating in Dona Ana, NM — El Paso Electric Company
EIAWD
398.3 MW
Nameplate Capacity
4
Generators
units
Hybrid (2)
Technology
Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine + Natural Gas Steam Turbine
1957
Operating Since
Location
Coordinates
31.8047, -106.5472
County
Dona Ana, NM
Nearby Plants
- Nodal PowerLandfill Gas3.2 MW · 4.4 km
- Tenet HospitalNatural Gas4.2 MW · 5.8 km
- Milagro Solar IBESS225 MW · 9.0 km
Ownership & Operator
| Field | EIA | GEM | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | El Paso Electric Co | El Paso Electric | — |
| Owner(s) | El Paso Electric Co | Sun Jupiter Holdings | — |
| Status | Operating | — | — |
Ownership Chain
About
The Rio Grande power plant, located in Dona Ana County, New Mexico, has a total capacity of 398.3 MW across four generators. The plant began operating in 1957 and is owned by Sun Jupiter Holdings, with El Paso Electric Co. serving as the operator. The primary fuel source is natural gas, utilized in both combustion turbine and steam turbine technologies. Rio Grande is considered a hybrid plant, using multiple forms of generation.
In the most recent year with available data, the plant generated 789,796 MWh, achieving a capacity factor of 22.5%. The plant operates within the El Paso Electric Company balancing authority and is part of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) NERC region. Rio Grande is the 5th largest power plant out of 11 in New Mexico, and ranks 550th out of 945 plants nationally.
Generated from EIA, GEM, and public data sources
Engineering & Generators
Grid Context
NERC Region
WECC
Balancing Authority
El Paso Electric Company
Grid Voltage
115 kV
Regulatory Status
RE
Entity Type
Investor-Owned Utility
Sector
Electric Utility
Generation
42.1K MWh
Latest Month
789.8K MWh
Annual Generation
22.5%
Capacity Factor
Jan 2023 – Dec 2025
Financial Data
No financial data available for this plant.
Pricing & Market Data
This plant is outside organized wholesale electricity markets (ISOs/RTOs). Nodal pricing data is not available.
News & Articles (10)Beta
Regulatory·permitting
Texas energy company seeks federal approval for pipeline through New Mexico to power data center
Several southern New Mexico Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups plan to object to the gas powered pipeline for Project Jupiter.
New Mexico (regulator)Project Jupiter (developer)
Source New Mexico·1 weeks ago
Regulatory·permitting
Rio Grande LNG Train 6, LLC; Notice of Scoping Period Requesting Comments on Environmental Issues for the Planned Rio Grande LNG Expansion Project, and Notice of Public Scoping Sessions
Rio Grande LNG Train 6 (developer)
Federal Register (FERC)·2 weeks ago
Regulatory·state puc
Utility asks New Mexico for ‘zero emission’ status for gas-fired power plant
This article was originally published by Capital & Main. By Jerry Redfern. The Southwestern Public Service Company has asked the state of...
Southwestern Public Service Company (other)New Mexico (regulator)
New Mexico Political Report·3 months ago
Regulatory·state puc
WED: Utility Asks NM for ‘Zero Emission’ Status for Gas-Fired Power Plant, + More
New Mexico's Energy Transition Act requires that all energy sold in the state by investor-owned utilities be from zero-carbon-emission...
New Mexico (regulator)
KUNM·3 months ago
Last updated 2026-03-14
View all 10 articles