Mount Elbert — Plant Summary
- EIA Plant ID
- 6208
- Capacity
- 200 MW
- Primary Fuel
- Hydro
- Technology
- Hydroelectric Pumped Storage
- Status
- Operating
- Location
- Lake, CO
- Operating Since
- 1981
- Generators
- 2
- Operator
- U S Bureau of Reclamation
- Parent Company
- —
- Annual Generation
- -24,138 MWh
- Capacity Factor
- -1.4%
- Balancing Authority
- Western Area Power Administration - Rocky Mountain Region
- ISO/RTO
- —
- NERC Region
- WECC
Mount Elbert
OperatingHydro
Ranked #2 of 49 Hydro plants in CO#93 of 1454 nationally
200 MW Hydro operating in Lake, CO — Western Area Power Administration - Rocky Mountain Region
EIAGEMWD
200 MW
Nameplate Capacity
2
Generators
units
Hydroelectric Pumped Storage
Technology
1981
Operating Since
Location
Ownership & Operator
Owner data does not fully agree across sources.
EIA typically reports the operating utility, while GEM resolves to the financial owner or parent corporation. Both can be correct.
| Field | EIA | GEM | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | U S Bureau of Reclamation | US Bureau of Reclamation | — |
| Owner(s) | U S Bureau of Reclamation | US Bureau of Reclamation [100%] | — |
| Status | Operating | operating | — |
Ownership Chain
GEM identifies the owner as US Bureau of Reclamation [100%]
This entity is not yet in the GEM ownership database — chain unavailable.
About
Mount Elbert is a 200 MW hydroelectric pumped storage plant located in Lake County, Colorado. It began operating in 1981 and is owned and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The plant utilizes water as its primary fuel source and consists of two generators.
Mount Elbert operates within the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) NERC region. Its balancing authority is the Western Area Power Administration - Rocky Mountain Region. The plant holds the rank of 2 out of 3 hydroelectric plants in Colorado based on capacity, and ranks 93 out of 194 nationally.
Generated from EIA, GEM, and public data sources
Engineering & Generators
Grid Context
NERC Region
WECC
Balancing Authority
Western Area Power Administration - Rocky Mountain Region
Grid Voltage
230 kV
Regulatory Status
RE
Entity Type
Federal
Sector
Electric Utility
Generation
−2.3K MWh
Net Charging
-24.1K MWh
Annual Net Energy
-1.4%
Capacity Factor
Jan 2023 – Dec 2025
Positive values indicate net discharge (generation exceeds station load). Negative values indicate net charging. Pure battery storage plants are typically net negative due to round-trip efficiency losses.
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.
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