When you’ve been around for 100 years, a celebration is in order. Today that milestone was marked for PPL Montana’s Madison Dam hydroelectric generating plant.
The four-unit hydroelectric plant on the Madison River at the head of Bear Trap Canyon began operating on Aug. 1, 1906.
About 60 people joined Madison Dam’s four employees for the birthday party, including Brad Spencer, PPL Montana’s vice president and chief operating officer; Bill Spence, PPL Corporation’s executive vice president and chief operating officer; and local community members.
“In 1906, this plant brought the economic benefits of electricity to this region, and it is still doing so today,” Spence said. “In its early days, it provided power for gold-dredging at Ruby and Portland Cement at Three Forks, as well as electricity for the city of Butte.
“Today Madison Dam and PPL Montana’s other hydroelectric and coal-fired plants around the state provide much needed power that is still essential for economic growth and for the opportunities it creates for families.”
At the facility, water flows downhill to the powerhouse from a 2.6-mile-long reservoir through 7,700 feet of pipeline to spin generators that can produce up to a total of 8 megawatts of electricity. One megawatt is enough to serve about 750 homes.
Constructed of natural stone and masonry, the powerhouse is a national historic site.
Kayakers especially are drawn to the white-water stretches of the Madison River in Bear Trap Canyon below the dam. PPL Montana provides several recreational facilities near the dam, including Clute’s Landing Meadow Lake access, Meadow Lake fishing access site, Kobayashi Beach day use area and boat launch, Upper Bear Trap Canyon access area, Fall Creek interpretive area and Warm Springs Creek Madison River access.
PPL has 500 employees in Montana who generate and sell electricity. PPL Montana operates coal-fired power plants at Colstrip and Billings, as well as 11 hydroelectric plants along Rosebud Creek and the Missouri, Madison, Clark Fork and Flathead rivers. It has a combined generating capacity of about 1,200 megawatts and has offices in Billings, Butte and Helena. PPL EnergyPlus operates a trading floor in Butte that markets and sells power in the wholesale and retail energy market. PPL Montana and PPL EnergyPlus are subsidiaries of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL).