Power Plants in Washington

Washington's power sector in numbers

Bywatts maps 126 operating power plants with 30.2 GW of nameplate capacity in Washington. Hydro leads with 70% of that capacity across 65 plants, followed by Natural Gas (13%) and Wind (9%). The inventory also includes 15 plants (233 MW) that EIA-860 lists as retired and 2 never built; the largest retired plant is SIMPSON TACOMA KRAFT BIOMASS (64 MW, retired 2023).

The largest operating plants are GRAND COULEE (6,809 MW, Hydro, U S BUREAU OF RECLAMATION), CHIEF JOSEPH (2,456 MW, Hydro, USACE NORTHWESTERN DIVISION) and ROCKY REACH (1,300 MW, Hydro, PUD NO 1 OF CHELAN COUNTY).

Of the 125 operating plants with a recorded commissioning year, 37 came online in 2000 or later and 13 in 2010 or later; the busiest decade for new capacity was the 1940s (6.9 GW).

The largest operators by operating capacity are U S BUREAU OF RECLAMATION (3 plants, 6.8 GW), USACE NORTHWESTERN DIVISION (5 plants, 5.5 GW) and PUGET SOUND ENERGY INC (17 plants, 2.9 GW).

Retail electricity sales in Washington reached 91.0 TWh in 2025, up 1.0% over ten years and up 1.2% year on year; residential customers took 42.8% of it. The average retail price across all sectors was 11.06 cents per kWh, up 49.4% since 2015.

The database also maps 861 named substations (36 of the 575 with a recorded voltage are rated 345 kV or above), 10 data centers (operators include Bothell Data Services, CSS Communications and Digital Realty), 130 solar installers and 51 solar companies in Washington.

Operating capacity by fuel

Retail electricity sales

Sources: HIFLD power-plant inventory (capacity, fuel, operator), EIA-860 (commissioning year, retirements, operable capacity), EIA retail sales and revenue series through January 2026. Counts are of plants Bywatts lists, not every generator in the state.