History

The Tugalo Hydroelectric Plant is situated about two miles south of the Tallulah Falls Plant, just below where the Tallulah and Chattooga Rivers meet to form the Tugalo River. Hence the name; in the Cherokee Indian language, "Tugalo" means "fork of a stream." The plant's location at this confluence gives it the benefit of almost 300 square miles of Chattooga River drainage area in addition to the nearly 200 square miles of Tallulah River drainage area.

The Tugalo Plant is the second largest in size and was the second to be completed of the six plants in the North Georgia Hydro Group. It has four generating units, each with a capacity of 11,250 kilowatts. The plant's gravity concrete dam stands 155 feet high and spans 940 feet across the river, and impounds Lake Tugalo. The dam has an available storage capacity of 500 million cubic feet, backing water up the Tallulah River to the tailrace of the Tallulah Falls Plant and up the Chattooga River a distance of three miles.

The Tugalo Plant is the operating headquarters for the North Georgia Hydro Group. Its personnel manage all administrative and maintenance functions of the plants in the group.

Construction of Tugalo's dam was begun during the later part of 1917, but was halted shortly thereafter due to the adverse financial conditions following the start of World War I. Work on the plant was not resumed until January 1922, when it was pressed steadily forward to completion. The plant's first two generating units began producing electricity in 1923; units three and four were placed in operation the following year. These four generating units, housed in a powerhouse on the Tugalo River's western shore, collectively produce 45,000 kilowatts.