History

Lake Oconee is fed from the Oconee River, the Appalachee River and several major creeks. Located just above Lake Sinclair near Eatonton, Wallace Dam is the newest and by far the largest hydroelectric plant in the Central Georgia Hydro Group as well as in the Georgia Power Company. When completed in 1980, its 321,300-kilowatt capacity nearly doubled the total output of the Company's hydro generating system.

In addition, Wallace Dam is Georgia Power's first pumped storage project. Four of its six turbines can be reversed to pump water from below the dam back up into the reservoir for reuse. This resource conservation technology more than doubles the energy potential of Lake Oconee.

Construction of Wallace Dam began in 1971 and late in 1980, the last of its six generating units was placed in operation. Total cost to build the facility exceeded $200 million. The plant is named for the late Cyrus M. Wallace, a former executive vice president and director of the Georgia Power Company.

The gravity-concrete dam - 120 feet high and 2,395 feet long - impounds Lake Oconee, an ancient Creek Indian name meaning "great waters". It marked the first time in the history of the modern Georgia Power Company that a reservoir was named after the water it impounds. With 18,971 acres of water surface and 374 miles of shoreline, Lake Oconee is second in size only to Georgia's Lake Sidney Lanier.

The plant's powerhouse is semi-automatic and all controls are managed 24-hours-a-day throughout the year. As headquarters for the Central Georgia Hydro Group, Wallace Dam's personnel also supervise the operation of Barnett Shoals, Lloyd Shoals, and Sinclair Dam. The development also includes a visitors center, located in the service building, which features exhibits, films and brochures designed to acquaint the public with Wallace Dam and its environs.