Big Creek 4 — Plant Summary
- EIA Plant ID
- 320
- Capacity
- 100 MW
- Primary Fuel
- Hydro
- Technology
- Conventional Hydroelectric
- Status
- Operating
- Location
- Madera, CA
- Operating Since
- 1951
- Generators
- 2
- Operator
- Southern California Edison Co
- Parent Company
- Edison International
- Annual Generation
- 365,498 MWh
- Capacity Factor
- 41.7%
- Balancing Authority
- California Independent System Operator
- ISO/RTO
- CAISO
- NERC Region
- WECC
Big Creek 4
OperatingHydro
Ranked #42 of 247 Hydro plants in CA#192 of 1454 nationally
100 MW Hydro operating in Madera, CA — California Independent System Operator
EIAGEMWD
100 MW
Nameplate Capacity
2
Generators
units
Conventional Hydroelectric
Technology
1951
Operating Since
Location
Coordinates
37.1390, -119.4898
County
Madera, CA
Nearby Plants
- A G WishonHydro12.8 MW · 1.9 km
- KerckhoffHydro22.6 MW · 7.6 km
- Big Creek 3Hydro174.5 MW · 9.2 km
Ownership & Operator
| Field | EIA | GEM | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Southern California Edison Co | Southern California Edison | — |
| Owner(s) | Southern California Edison Co | Edison International | — |
| Status | Operating | operating | — |
Ownership Chain
About
Big Creek 4 is a 100 MW conventional hydroelectric power plant located in Madera County, California. The plant, which began operating in 1951, is owned by Edison International and operated by Southern California Edison Co. It consists of two generators using water (WAT) as its primary fuel source. The plant operates within the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) balancing authority and the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) NERC region.
In the most recent year with available data, Big Creek 4 generated 365,498 MWh of electricity, resulting in a capacity factor of 41.7%. The plant's installed cost was $394.02 per kW. Big Creek 4 is ranked 42nd out of 42 power plants in California and 194th out of 194 nationally.
Generated from EIA, GEM, and public data sources
Engineering & Generators
Grid Context
NERC Region
WECC
Balancing Authority
California Independent System Operator
Grid Voltage
220 kV
Regulatory Status
RE
Entity Type
Investor-Owned Utility
Sector
Electric Utility
Generation
23.7K MWh
Latest Month
365.5K MWh
Annual Generation
41.7%
Capacity Factor
Jan 2023 – Dec 2025
Financial DataBeta
Source: FERC Form 1HIGH
$475/kW
Installed Cost
$8.0/MWh
Operating Cost
Southern California Edison Company
Reporting Utility
Cumulative Installed Cost
Per-Unit Cost Trends
Pricing & Market Data
HIGH confidenceMarket Position
ISO/RTO Market
CAISO
LMP Node
BCRK4_7_B1
Pricing Hub
TH_ZP26_GEN-APND
Location Type
Pricing Node
Node Source
Curated node match
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