Kern River 3 — Plant Summary
- EIA Plant ID
- 339
- Capacity
- 40.3 MW
- Primary Fuel
- Hydro
- Technology
- Conventional Hydroelectric
- Status
- Operating
- Location
- Kern, CA
- Operating Since
- 1921
- Generators
- 2
- Operator
- Southern California Edison Co
- Parent Company
- Edison International
- Annual Generation
- 142,766 MWh
- Capacity Factor
- 40.4%
- Balancing Authority
- California Independent System Operator
- ISO/RTO
- CAISO
- NERC Region
- WECC
Kern River 3
OperatingHydro
Ranked #71 of 247 Hydro plants in CA#342 of 1454 nationally
40.3 MW Hydro operating in Kern, CA — California Independent System Operator
EIAWD
40.3 MW
Nameplate Capacity
2
Generators
units
Conventional Hydroelectric
Technology
1921
Operating Since
Location
Coordinates
35.7762, -118.4362
County
Kern, CA
Nearby Plants
- Isabella Hydro ProjectHydro11.8 MW · 15.3 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 | — | — |
Ownership Chain
About
Kern River 3 is a 40.3 MW conventional hydroelectric power plant located in Kern County, California. The plant began operating in 1921 and has two generators. It is owned by Edison International and operated by Southern California Edison Co. The plant's primary fuel source is water (WAT).
In the most recent year with available data, Kern River 3 generated 142,766 MWh of electricity, achieving a capacity factor of 40.4%. The plant operates within the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) balancing authority and the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) NERC region. According to available data, the installed cost was $1,558.1 per kW. Kern River 3 is ranked 71st out of 247 power plants in California and 346th out of 1464 plants nationally.
Generated from EIA, GEM, and public data sources
Engineering & Generators
Grid Context
NERC Region
WECC
Balancing Authority
California Independent System Operator
Grid Voltage
66 kV
Regulatory Status
RE
Entity Type
Investor-Owned Utility
Sector
Electric Utility
Generation
10.2K MWh
Latest Month
142.8K MWh
Annual Generation
40.4%
Capacity Factor
Jan 2022 – Dec 2024
Financial DataBeta
Source: FERC Form 1HIGH
$1,559/kW
Installed Cost
$29.2/MWh
Operating Cost
Southern California Edison Company
Reporting Utility
Cumulative Installed Cost
Per-Unit Cost Trends
Pricing & Market Data
HIGH confidencePoint of Interconnection
Nearest Substation
Kernville
Substation Distance
0.002 km
Coord Source
OSM spatial
Market Position
ISO/RTO Market
CAISO
LMP Node
KERNRVU1_7_B1
Pricing Hub
TH_SP15_GEN-APND
Secondary Zone
TH_ZP26_GEN-APND
Location Type
Pricing Node
Node Source
Curated node match
News & Articles (10)Beta
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Fresno Bee·4 months ago
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SJV Water·4 months ago
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California (other)
Maven's Notebook·6 months ago
Regulatory·state puc
State has opportunity to "leverage" Edison power plant relicensing to protect upper Kern River, Fish and Game commissioner says
A California Fish and Game commissioner urged staff on Thursday to look for ways to better protect the upper Kern River watershed and...
Edison (other)Kern River (other)
SJV Water·6 months ago
Last updated 2026-03-14
View all 10 articles