POLE HILL POWERPLANT
Pole Hill Powerplant
| Plant Contact: | Paul Sampson, Plant Foreman Flatiron Powerplant |
| Telephone Numbers: | Phone: (970) 667-4230 Fax: (970) 663-2030 |
| E-Mail Address: | psampson@gp.usbr.gov |
| Reclamation Region: | Great Plains |
| NERC Region: | Western Electricity Coordinating Council, Rocky Mountain Power Area |
| PMA Service Area: | Western Area Power Administration, Rocky Mountain Region |
| Project Authorization: | The President approved Secretary of the Interior's finding of feasibility on December 21, 1937. |
| Project Purposes: | The Colorado-Big Thompson Project is one of the largest and most complex natural resource developments undertaken by Reclamation. It consists of over 100 structures integrated into a transmountain water diversion system through which multiple benefits are provided to the people. The project spreads over approximately 250 miles in the Colorado. It stores, regulates, and diverts water from the Colorado River on the western slope of the Continental Divide to the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. It provides supplemental water for irrigation of about 720,000 acres of land, municipal and industrial use, hydroelectric power, and water-oriented recreation opportunities. |
| Plant Purpose: | Generation of hydroelectric power and water storage for the project. |
| Plant Facts: | Olympus Syphon and Tunnel and Pole Hill Tunnel and Canal convey water from Lake Estes and some Big Thompson River floodwaters to a penstock, through which the water drops 815 feet to Pole Hill Powerplant. Water is then routed through Pole Hill Powerplant Afterbay, Rattlesnake Tunnel, Pinewood Lake, and Bald Mountain Pressure Tunnel and dropped to Flatiron Powerplant. |
| Plant History: | The water and power control center for Colorado-Big Thompson Project's reservoirs, powerplants, and transmission lines in Wyoming, Colorado, and western Nebraska is at the project headquarters in Loveland, Colorado. This Western Division of the Missouri River Basin is an interconnected system of 15 Reclamation powerplants. |
| Present Activities: | Normal operations |
| Future Planned Activities: | None |
| Special Issues: | Maintenance costs were affected by the conclusion for ROM items. Low generation in 2001 is due to late spring runoff. The increase in water spilled was due to the need to by-pass water during the annual plant maintenance outage. The forced outage factor increased because of the lack of water following the annual outage. |
| River: | Colorado River and Big Thompson River |
| Plant Type: | Conventional |
| Powerhouse Type: | Above Ground |
| Turbine Type: | Francis |
| Original Nameplate Capacity: | 33,250 kW |
| Installed Capacity: | 38,200 kW |
| Year of Initial Operation: | 1954 |
| Age: | 51 years |
| Net Generation: (FY 2005) |
149,780,800 kWh |
| Rated Head: | 825 feet |
| Plant Factor: (FY 2005) |
44.94 percent |
| Remotely Operated: | Yes |
| Production Mode: | Base Load |
Click here for graphs and charts of Pole Hill Powerplant performance.
Click here for information on the Colorado-Big Thompson Project.
Revised December 30, 2005 Hydropower Site Map Help