14th largest plant in Oklahoma · 551st nationally
Southwestern is a natural gas power plant in Oklahoma with a nameplate capacity of 658 MW. It generates roughly 1.0M MWh per year — enough to power about 99,436 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 18% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1500 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (658 MW nameplate × hours in the month). Filled bars are actual net generation reported to EIA Form 923. The gap between them is capacity factor made visible.
| Plant Name | Southwestern |
|---|---|
| Operator | Public Service Co Of Oklahoma |
| City | Anadarko |
| County | Caddo County |
| State | Oklahoma |
| ZIP | 73005 |
| Coordinates | 35.10090, -98.35240 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 315 MW | Operating | 1967 |
| 4 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 86.5 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| 5 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 86.5 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| 1 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 84.0 MW | Operating | 1952 |
| 2 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 84.0 MW | Operating | 1954 |
| IC1 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 2.0 MW | Out of Service | 1966 |
| CO₂ | 782.9k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 4 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 1.8k metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1500 lb/MWh |
Annual totals and CO₂ rate reported by EPA eGRID for 2023. Reference averages are approximate U.S.-wide figures from the same dataset.
| NERC Region | MRO |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Southwest Power Pool |
Natural gas plants are the workhorse of the modern grid. Combined-cycle units achieve very high efficiency and can ramp up and down quickly to balance variable renewables. They emit roughly half the CO₂ per MWh of coal and far less of other pollutants, but they still release upstream methane during fuel extraction.