# Falcon Dam & Power

ERCOT asset profile · https://askthegrid.com/assets/facilities/falcon-dam-and-power

International Boundary and Water Commission, United States Section (USIBWC) - Starr County - ERCOT

Falcon Dam & Power is a 31.5 MW conventional hydroelectric plant with three 10.5 MW generating units in Starr County, Texas. The plant sits on the U.S. side of Falcon Dam, an earthen embankment dam on the Rio Grande that the United States and Mexico built jointly under the 1944 Water Treaty. It is owned and operated by the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission, which also runs a mirror-image plant on the Mexican side of the same dam. The U.S. units have been generating since October 1954 and remain in service with no retirement scheduled. Output is marketed by the federal Western Area Power Administration rather than sold by IBWC directly, and the plant settles into ERCOT at its own Falcon Dam & Power price nodes.

## Metrics

- **Nameplate capacity:** 31.5 MW — Canonical EIA plant baseline.
- **Registry anchor:** Plant 6410 — plant-6410

## Facts

- **Technology:** Conventional Hydroelectric
- **Operator:** International Boundary and Water Commission, United States Section (USIBWC)

## Related parties

- **Owner / operator / O&M provider:** International Boundary and Water Commission, United States Section (USIBWC) — U.S. plant constructor and operator ([source](https://www.ibwc.gov/power-plants-dams))
- **Power marketer / market operator:** Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) — Power marketer ([source](https://www.wapa.gov/about-wapa/regions/crsp/power-marketing/power-projects-2))
- **Offtaker:** Medina Electric Cooperative, Inc. — Historical co-purchaser under the 1977 contract
- **Balancing authority / market operator:** Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) — Balancing authority and market operator ([source](https://www.ercot.com/))
- **Transmission owner:** AEP Texas Central Company — Transmission or distribution system owner

## Sources

- [hydroreform.org](https://hydroreform.org/hydro-project/falcon-dam-power) — hydroreform.org · public_source — Source retained for exact-record publication review.
- [ercot.com](https://www.ercot.com/files/docs/2025/09/02/Stand-Alone-Generation-Resources-as-of-09.01.25.pdf) — ercot.com · authoritative — Source retained for exact-record publication review.
- [federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2004/05/03/04-9967/amistad-and-falcon-projects-rate-order-no-wapa-111) — federalregister.gov · authoritative — Source retained for exact-record publication review.

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Canonical page: https://askthegrid.com/assets/facilities/falcon-dam-and-power
Website: [International Boundary and Water Commission (U.S. Section)](https://www.ibwc.gov/power-plants-dams)

Source: Ask the Grid — https://askthegrid.com/