History

Where the Alcovy, Yellow and South rivers meet, is 4,750-acre Lake Jackson with its 135 miles of shoreline, including quiet coves that make perfect secluded fishing spots.

The Lloyd Shoals Hydroelectric Plant is the only member of the Central Georgia Hydro Group located on the Ocmulgee River. It is situated there about seven miles east of Jackson.

Originally built and owned by the Central Georgia Power Company, Lloyd Shoals began producing electricity in 1911 with four 2,400-kilowatt generating units. A fifth 2,400-kilowatt unit was completed in 1916 and a year later, a sixth 2,400-kilowatt unit was added, bringing the plant's output to 14,400 kilowatts. Today, as a result of improvements made over the years, Lloyd Shoals can generate a total of 21,000 kilowatts.

The plant became part of the Georgia Power Company system in 1928 when the Central Georgia Power Company and several other utilities were consolidated with the Georgia Power Company. In its first years as part of Georgia Power, Lloyd Shoals had its own generating and maintenance staff as well as a plant superintendent. Since becoming a member of the Central Georgia Hydro Group in 1978, however, Lloyd Shoals has been managed and maintained by personnel at, or dispatched from, Wallace Dam - the Group's operating headquarters. On-site staff only includes an around-the-clock attendant who operates the manual controls which run the plant.

The plant's powerhouse was severely damaged by an electrical fire in January, 1983 but was rebuilt and in full operation within the next year. The $2.8 million reconstruction project involved replacing much of the electrical equipment and wiring, the transformers and part of the building's top floor as well as rewinding the Unit 6 generator. The 1911 concrete-masonry dam itself - 100 feet high and 1,070 feet across - was not damaged by the fire. It impounds Lake Jackson which has 4,750 acres of water surface, 135 miles of shoreline and a crest elevation of 530 feet.