History

A short drive north of Columbus, Lake Harding spans 5,850 acres and has a shoreline of 156 miles, which spreads along a 13-mile section of the portion of the Chattahoochee River that separates Georgia and Alabama. Bartlett's Ferry Dam - 120 feet high and 1,900 feet wide - impounds Lake Harding. Located about 20 miles above Columbus, Bartletts Ferry is by far the largest plant in the Chattahoochee Hydro Group, as well as the group's headquarters. Its personnel manage by remote control all operating functions at the Goat Rock, Oliver Dam, and North Highlands plants. Bartletts Ferry also acts as a storage reservoir and flow regulator for these plants.

Originally owned by the Columbus Electric and Power Company, the plant began producing electricity in 1926 with two 15,000-kilowatt generating units. Another such unit was added two years later.

Georgia Power acquired Bartletts Ferry in 1930. In 1951, it added Unit 4, bringing the plant's capacity to 65,000 kilowatts. A $104.6 million addition was completed in 1985, adding a fifth and sixth unit, a powerhouse, penstocks, intake structure and a dike on the eastern side of the river. The additions boosted the plant generating capacity to 173,000 kilowatts. At the same time, on the river's western shore near the existing powerhouse, a unique flood control weir was completed. The weir's zigzag construction runs 4,000 feet across a 1,260-foot length.