Nearly all the electricity generated in the province of Manitoba is clean hydroelectric power. This originates from a number of power stations in the province, many of them located on its eastern edge.
The Seven Sisters Generating Station is the largest hydroelectric plant on the Winnipeg River. I’d first visited this plant when I was a young boy and have been back a few times since, my last visit just a few months ago.
(the generating station and its spillway at Seven Sisters)
The powerhouse is 128 meters long and has a throughput of 1,146 cubic metres of water per second, with a total drop of 18.6 metres. The station has a 225 meter long spillway. The upriver reservoir feeding the plant is called Natalie Lake and is used for recreatational activities like boating and fishing.
(Seven Sisters spillway)When the Seven Sisters plant turned 50 years old , a major rehabilitation project was conducted. It was necessary to repair the station’s north dam, the powerhouse, spillway and so on. The station’s electrical and mechanical equipment was also upgraded.
(downriver view from the Seven Sisters spillway)
You can learn more about this Seven Sisters’ power plant history in this short video clip.
We visited Seven Sisters in early September, and besides the fall colors were treated to hundreds of geese migrating south. Always a sign that winter is not far away.
