Drop 3 (CA)
Imperial County, California · EIA plant ID 386 · Operator: Imperial Irrigation District
Nameplate9MWSummer 9 MW
Generators2in service
Net generation15GWh12 mo to Dec 2025
Capacity factor20%hydro units, summer MW
Heat rate—thermal plants only
First online1941
Monthly net generation
EIA-923, all units at the plant. Net of station use; storage can go negative.
FinalPreliminary
Capacity factor by year
Net MWh ÷ (summer MW × hours), hydro units. Each year uses that year's EIA-860 ratings; the hollow dot is the latest 12 months.
Heat rate by year
Electric fuel MMBtu × 1000 ÷ net MWh (Btu/kWh, HHV), fossil units only; CT + CA counted as one combined-cycle block.
Heat rate applies to fuel-burning (thermal) units only.
Annual data table
| Year | Net GWh | Capacity factor | Heat rate (Btu/kWh) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 51.6 | 73.6% | — |
| 2002 | 52.3 | 74.6% | — |
| 2003 | 51.1 | 72.9% | — |
| 2004 | 48.8 | 69.5% | — |
| 2005 | 45.4 | 64.8% | — |
| 2006 | 50.8 | 72.4% | — |
| 2007 | 45.9 | 65.4% | — |
| 2008 | 48.6 | 69.1% | — |
| 2009 | 48.1 | 68.6% | — |
| 2010 | 48.7 | 69.5% | — |
| 2011 | 52.1 | 74.3% | — |
| 2012 | 50.4 | 71.7% | — |
| 2013 | 42.9 | 55.1% | — |
| 2014 | 41.2 | 64.4% | — |
| 2015 | 40.5 | 63.4% | — |
| 2016 | 46.4 | 72.3% | — |
| 2017 | 40.7 | 63.7% | — |
| 2018 | 41.9 | 65.5% | — |
| 2019 | 41 | 64.1% | — |
| 2020 | 40.2 | 62.6% | — |
| 2021 | 40.4 | 51.8% | — |
| 2022 | 34.6 | 44.3% | — |
| 2023 | 27.6 | 35.4% | — |
| 2024 | 26.4 | 33.8% | — |
| 2025 | 15.3 | 19.6% | — |
Generators
EIA-860 (annual) with EIA-860M updates through Sep 2026. EIA-923 reports generation by plant, prime mover and fuel, not by unit, so unit-level output isn't shown.
| Gen ID | Technology | Prime mover | Nameplate MW | Summer MW | Online | Status | Planned retirement | OEM / model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conventional Hydroelectric | HY | 4.8 | 4.5 | Feb 1941 | Operating | — | coming soon |
| 2 | Conventional Hydroelectric | HY | 4.4 | 4.4 | Nov 1966 | Operating | — | coming soon |
Owner / operator
Operator: Imperial Irrigation District. Ownership shares by in-service nameplate MW (EIA-860 Schedule 4; units not listed there are wholly owned by the operator).
| Imperial Irrigation District | 100.0% | 9 MW |
Nearby plants
Within 80 km.
| Drop 4 | 20 MW | 8.7 km |
| Drop 2 (CA) | 10 MW | 8.9 km |
| East Highline | 2 MW | 14.6 km |
| Ormesa II | 24 MW | 14.7 km |
| Geo East Mesa II | 22 MW | 15.1 km |
| Geo East Mesa III | 46 MW | 15.1 km |