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2160 MW Hydro operating in Sherman, OR
2,160 MW
Nameplate Capacity
16
Generators
units
Conventional Hydroelectric
Technology
1968
Operating Since
Coordinates
45.7164, -120.6941
County
Sherman, OR
Nearby Plants
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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 | USACE Northwestern Division | US Army Corps of Engineers - Portland District | — |
| Owner(s) | USACE Northwestern Division | US Army Corps of Engineers - Portland District | — |
| Status | Operating | operating | — |
GEM identifies the owner as US Army Corps of Engineers - Portland District
This entity is not yet in the GEM ownership database — chain unavailable.
The John Day Dam is a concrete gravity run-of-the-river dam spanning the Columbia River in the northwestern United States. The dam features a navigation lock plus fish ladders on both sides. The John Day Lock has the highest lift of any U.S. lock. The reservoir impounded by the dam is Lake Umatilla, and it runs 76.4 miles (123.0 km) up the river channel to the foot of the McNary Dam. John Day Dam is part of the Columbia River Basin system of dams.
Read more on WikipediaThe John Day hydroelectric plant is located in Sherman County, Oregon. It has a total capacity of 2160 MW across 16 generators, making it the largest of 11 hydroelectric plants in the state and the fifth-largest of 194 nationwide. The plant began operating in 1968 and is operated by the USACE Northwestern Division. Its primary fuel source is water (WAT), utilizing conventional hydroelectric technology.
In the most recent year with available data, the John Day plant generated 7,589,037 MWh of electricity, achieving a capacity factor of 40.1%. The plant operates within the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) NERC region and is under the balancing authority of the Bonneville Power Administration.
Generated from EIA, GEM, and public data sources
Grid Region
Pacific Northwest
Market
WEIM Participant
NERC Region
WECC — Western Electricity Coordinating Council
Balancing Authority
Bonneville Power Administration (BPAT)
Grid Voltage
500.0 kV
Regulatory Status
RE — Regulated
Entity Type
Federal
Sector
Electric Utility
Monthly net generation as reported to EIA-923 — useful for historical context. Confidence varies sharply by fuel type; the band above and the “About this data” button explain the caveats specific to this plant and how InfraSure’s in-house model handles them.
965.2K MWh
Latest Month
7.6M MWh
Annual Generation
40.1%
Capacity Factor
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2013
$2,294/kW
Est. Construction Cost
Total estimated cost: $5.0B
Forward revenue, DSCR bands, and refinancing risk projected under price, demand, and policy scenarios. Powered by InfraSure's asset cashflow stack.
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This plant's balancing authority participates in CAISO's Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM). Direct nodal pricing data is not yet available.
No wholesale contracts disclosed in FERC EQR for this plant.
FERC EQR captures bilateral wholesale energy + capacity contracts ≥$1M/yr filed quarterly by jurisdictional sellers — covers renewable PPAs, thermal energy sales agreements, capacity contracts, and tolling agreements alike. Many plants don't appear: regulated-utility output flows to ratepayers via cost-of-service rather than bilateral contracts; small projects fall below the filing threshold; tax-equity-financed renewables route offtake to investors not utilities; merchant plants sell into ISO clearing markets without bilateral contracts. News-extracted buyer facts (below) may surface contracts disclosed only through announcements.
Last updated 2026-03-26
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Damage to upstream navigation lock gate closed John Day Lock, disrupting Columbia River commercial traffic; power generation was not reported as affected.
source