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Heat rate

Heat rate is how much fuel energy a power plant burns to make one kilowatt-hour of electricity. A lower heat rate means a more efficient plant.

Also called net heat rate

Formula

Heat rate (Btu/kWh) = fuel burned (Btu) ÷ net generation (kWh)

Efficiency = 3,412 ÷ heat rate

3,412
The Btu of energy in one kWh of electricity
MMBtu/MWh
One MMBtu per MWh equals 1,000 Btu per kWh

With real numbersWest County Energy Center: 133,064,336 MMBtu ÷ 18,660,467 MWh = 7.13 MMBtu/MWh = 7,130 Btu/kWh. Efficiency = 3,412 ÷ 7,130 = 47.8%

In the data

7,130 Btu/kWhWest County Energy Center, a gas combined cycle plant, in 2025

West County Energy Center turned 48% of its fuel energy into electricity. Bowen, a coal steam plant, turned 35%.

Heat rate in 2025, Btu per kWh. Lower burns less fuel.
  1. West County Energy CenterGas combined cycle · 4,263 MW7,130
  2. Lincoln CombustionGas combustion turbine · 2,156 MW9,470
  3. Belews CreekGas steam turbine · 2,491 MW9,570
  4. BowenCoal steam · 3,499 MW9,830

EIA-923 total fuel heat input and net generation, 2025. The largest plant of each technology with 12 complete months.On the map

Built from InfraMap's 2025 data with the same tools the analyst uses.

Common mistakes

  1. Mixing bases. Net or gross output and the higher or lower heating value of the fuel each move the result by several percent, so match them before you compare.
  2. Guessing heat rate from capacity factor. A plant that runs rarely can still be efficient when it runs. Only fuel records give the heat rate.
  3. Giving wind, solar or hydro a heat rate. They burn no fuel, so there is no thermal efficiency to report.

How the InfraMap analyst defines it

Fuel heat input per unit of electricity. A lower comparable heat rate indicates greater conversion efficiency. Match net or gross output and fuel heat basis. No fuel input means no thermal-efficiency estimate.

Efficiency fraction = 3,412 / heat rate in Btu/kWh; 1 MMBtu/MWh = 1,000 Btu/kWh

Reviewed October 1, 2026 against the references below. The analyst and the MCP server answer with this definition.

Primary references

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