THOMPSON FALLS
OperatingHydro power plant
- Capacity
- 87 MW
- Primary fuel
- Hydro
- County
- Sanders County
- Operator
- PPL MONTANA LLC
- Status
- Operating
- Commissioned
- 1915
- EIA plant ID
- 2195
- Generators
- 7
- Technology
- Conventional Hydroelectric
- Net generation (2024)
- 436 GWh
- Capacity factor (2024, EIA nameplate)
- 51%
- Data vintage
- EIA-860 2024 final; EIA-923 2022-2024 final
- Coordinates
- 47.5936, -115.3600
THOMPSON FALLS, an 87 MW Hydro power plant in Sanders County, Montana. Operated by PPL MONTANA LLC, commissioned 1915.
How THOMPSON FALLS compares
With 87 MW of capacity, THOMPSON FALLS ranks 15th among the 48 operating power plants Bywatts maps in Montana and 7th of the 21 operating Hydro plants in the state. It accounts for about 3.4% of Montana's operating Hydro capacity and 1.4% of all operating capacity in the state. Nationally it is the 198th-largest of the 1,243 operating Hydro plants in the database. Commissioned in 1915, it is older than 91% of the 46 operating Montana plants with a recorded commissioning year. Its operator, PPL MONTANA LLC, runs 12 operating plants in Montana totaling 2,868 MW. It shares Sanders County with one other operating plant, NOXON RAPIDS.
EIA-860 lists 7 generators at the site with 98 MW of nameplate capacity, all conventional hydroelectric technology (this page's HIFLD capacity figure is 87 MW). Net generation was 436 GWh in 2024 (a 51% capacity factor), down 12% from 2022. Its generators came online between 1915 and 1917.
Grid neighborhood
The nearest named substation is THOMPSON FALLS, about 0.3 miles away; the closest transmission line found within 10 miles is a 500 kV line owned by BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION, about 1.1 miles away.
Computed by Bywatts from HIFLD power plant, substation and transmission line records and EIA-860/923 survey data; distances are straight-line. Sources and methodology
Weather peril exposure
THOMPSON FALLS is an 87 MW hydro power plant in Sanders County, MT, operated by PPL MONTANA LLC, commissioned in 1915. Sanders County carries low modeled catastrophe exposure in the FEMA National Risk Index, scoring 1.4 of 5 at the 10th national percentile. Riverine flooding is the leading peril, rated Relatively Low by FEMA at the 93rd percentile.
The Bywatts loss layer is calibrated to solar PV hardware, so it is not applied to a hydro plant. The ratings below are the FEMA National Risk Index county hazard ratings for this location.
Sanders County hazard ratings
| Peril | FEMA rating | National percentile | Peril score | Events per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverine flooding | Relatively Low | 93rd | 4.7 of 5 | 0.68 |
| Ice storm | Relatively Moderate | 88th | 4.5 of 5 | 0.20 |
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | 87th | 4.5 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | 81st | 4.2 of 5 | 0.02 |
| Winter weather | Relatively High | 70th | 3.8 of 5 | 43.6 |
| Heat wave | Very Low | 48th | 2.9 of 5 | 2.1 |
| Strong wind | Very Low | 14th | 1.6 of 5 | 0.22 |
| Lightning | Very Low | 13th | 1.5 of 5 | 17.8 |
| Hail | Very Low | 12th | 1.5 of 5 | 0.30 |
| Tornado | Very Low | 3rd | 1.1 of 5 | 0.04 |
Perils not assessed in Sanders County
These perils carry no usable National Risk Index figure for this county, so they are excluded from the scoring rather than scored zero. A zero would claim the peril was assessed and found benign.
| Peril | Why it is not scored |
|---|---|
| Hurricane | FEMA rating is "Not Applicable" for this county |
| Coastal flooding | FEMA rating is "Not Applicable" for this county |
Model hail, wind and flood exposure for Sanders County in the weather risk calculator
Ratings are the FEMA National Risk Index county hazard ratings; the peril score is a Bywatts transform of the FEMA national percentile. Full data sources and the solar vulnerability methodology are in the weather risk calculator.
Modeled estimate for screening and negotiation. Built from FEMA National Risk Index county hazard data and a solar vulnerability layer documented above. Not a quote, a binder, or actuarial advice, and not a substitute for a carrier's own model. Hazard data: FEMA National Risk Index December 2025, synced 2026-07-24. Resolution is county level, not site level.