Pelton hydroelectric project
Completed in 1958, Pelton Dam’s concrete structure rises 204 feet from bedrock. The dam is 26-1/2 feet thick at its base, tapering to 8 feet at the top. Width of the dam is 965 feet. Three generators produce enough electricity to power more than 45,000 homes.

A small regulating dam was constructed 2.4 miles downstream from Pelton. The reservoir behind the dam allows PGE to control the river flow to maintain favorable biological conditions for aquatic life in the 100-mile stretch of the lower Deschutes. The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation installed a turbine unit at the regulating dam in 1982. It generates enough electricity to power more than 7,000 homes. We operate this facility remotely from the Pelton Round Butte Control Room.

Lake Simtustus
Behind Pelton Dam is a 611-acre reservoir called Lake Simtustus. It extends 7-1/2 miles upstream to the tailwaters of Round Butte Dam.

Round Butte hydroelectric project
Round Butte, completed in 1964, is the largest hydroelectric dam wholly within the state of Oregon. The massive 1,380-foot-long rock-fill structure rises 440 feet from its bedrock foundation. It is about 2,500 feet thick at its base and 44 feet thick at the crest. Round Butte’s three generators produce enough electricity to power more than 96,500 homes.

Lake Billy Chinook
Round Butte Dam backs the 4,000-acre reservoir known as Lake Billy Chinook. The reservoir consists of three arms, one each extending to the Crooked, Deschutes and Metolius rivers.

Round Butte hatchery
A salmon and steelhead hatchery was built on the powerhouse deck at Round Butte Dam. The facility is owned and financed by PGE, but operated by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Releases of juvenile fish commenced in 1974. Approximately 160,000 summer steelhead and 240,000 spring Chinook salmon are reared to smolt size and released into the river each year.

Returning adult hatchery fish are harvested from both the Columbia and Deschutes Rivers by sport and commercial fishermen, and Native American subsistence fishermen. Steelhead entering the Pelton fish trap serve as stock for the next generation. Excess adults are used by the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation.