- Combustion
- Clean firm
- In development
- Under construction
- Operating
- 10 · 100 · 1,000 MW
Map
- Combustion
- Clean firm
- In development
- Under construction
- Operating
Nichols: location and 3 exact-grade projects within 25 km. Basemap: Protomaps, © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Nichols
Power plant · Gas, steam turbine
Key facts
Power plant · Gas, steam turbineran 40% of 2025 Retiring- Capacity
- Capacity: sourceEIA-860M · Open licenseMW
- Commissioned
- 1960
- Net generation, 2025
- 1,665,814 MWh
- Grid
- 230 kV, 115 kV to Southwestern Public Service Co (SWPP)
- Location
- Potter County, Texas
- Operated by
- Southwestern Public Service Co
Output
- Gas
Details
Who’s behind it
- Owner
- Xcel Energy
Interested in this project?
Set an alert Book a call Join the beta
Our team gets you what you need.
Beta: private project space · data room · readiness check
- Technology
- Gas, steam turbine source: “Natural Gas Steam Turbine”
- Age
- 66 years since 1960
- Heat rate
- 10,804 Btu/kWh 2025
All 6 attributes from EIA-860M Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| EPA greenhouse gas reporting (GHGRP) |
|
| Fuel burned (MMBtu), 2025 | 17,998,315 |
| Capacity factor, 2025 | 0.401 |
| Heat rate (Btu/kWh), 2025 | 10,804.5 |
| Net generation (MWh), 2025 | 1,665,814 |
| Balancing authority code | SWPP |
Retirement
EIA-860M September 2026StatusAt least half of the plant's in-service nameplate capacity is scheduled to retire, on dates its owner has reported to EIA. As of EIA-860M for September 2026.- Next scheduled retirement
- December 2027
- Last scheduled retirement
- December 2030
- Capacity scheduled to retire
- 474.7 MW
- Generators scheduled to retire
- 3
- Share of in-service capacity scheduled
- 100%
- Capacity still in service
- 474.7 MW
| Generator | Technology | Nameplate | State | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | 113.6 MW | Scheduled to retire | December 2027 |
| 1 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | 113.6 MW | Scheduled to retire | December 2028 |
| 3 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | 247.5 MW | Scheduled to retire | December 2030 |
Grid
EIA-860 2025Grid fieldsAs the plant reported them to EIA-860 for 2025 (Schedule 2).- Grid voltage at the plant
- 230 kV, 115 kV
- Transmission or distribution system owner
- Southwestern Public Service Co
- Balancing authority
- Southwest Power Pool
- NERC region
- MRO
Transmission lines within 25 km (10)
- Power line, voltage not stated (OSM way 463732725)
- Power line, voltage not stated (OSM way 463732724)
- 230 kV line (OSM way 174863760)
- 115 kV line (OSM way 463732735)
- Power line, voltage not stated (OSM way 463732723)
- 115 kV line (OSM way 463732737)
- Power line, voltage not stated (OSM way 463732722)
- 115 kV line (OSM way 463732736)
- 115 kV line (OSM way 174863789)
- 115 kV line (OSM way 174863755)
Can the connection be reused?
A plant that retires usually leaves its substation, transmission connection and interconnection agreement behind, and those may be reusable by a new project at the same site. FERC Order No. 845 lets an interconnection customer use surplus interconnection service at an existing site, and some transmission providers' tariffs let a replacement resource take over a retiring unit's interconnection service, usually within a set time after the retirement. Whether any such right still exists here, who holds it and on what terms depends on the owner, the transmission provider and timing; this page does not establish any of that.
Ownership
2 companies2| Company | Role | Share | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwestern Public Service Co | Operator | EIA-860M | ||
| Xcel Energy | Owner | 100.0% | Dec 31, 2023 | EPA GHGRP |
Timeline
- Stated Unit 3 scheduled to retire, 247.5 MW · EIA-860M
- Stated Unit 1 scheduled to retire, 113.6 MW · EIA-860M
- Stated Unit 2 scheduled to retire, 113.6 MW · EIA-860M
- In service · EIA-860M
Sources
5 sourcesSources EIA-860M · OpenStreetMap · EIA · EIA-860M Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory · EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program — facility register with parent-company shares (Envirofacts pub_dim_facility; FLIGHT)
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Sources
- EIA-860M
- OpenStreetMap© OpenStreetMap contributors. Power lines, cables and substations filtered and reshaped by Inframation from the OpenStreetMap elements in Overture Maps' base/infrastructure theme; this derived database is available under the Open Database License 1.0 as GeoParquet files at https://tiles.inframation.io/grid/osm-power/ (latest.json names the current version's files; licence: https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright)
- EIASource: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electricity bulk data (Form EIA-923 monthly plant series)
- EIA-860M Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory
- EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program — facility register with parent-company shares (Envirofacts pub_dim_facility; FLIGHT)
Around this plant
Nearby
within 25 km| Project | Kind | Away | MW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project Matador Gas Plant (PMG) Under construction | Gas, combined cycle | 16.1 km | 11,679.3 |
| Project Matador Nuclear Announced | Nuclear | 16.1 km | 4,468 |
| Majestic 2 Wind Farm Postponed | Wind | 18.9 km | 79.2 |
Sources EIA-860M