Question: how much energy is required to power a city?
Answer: Megawatts are used to measure the output of a power plant or the amount of electricity required by an entire city. One megawatt (MW) = 1,000 kilowatts = 1,000,000 watts. For example, a typical coal plant is about 600 MW in size. Gigawatts measure the capacity of large power plants or of many plants.