Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Station

Lore & Background

Construction was declared a Komsomol high-tempo priority goal and became a symbol of industrial development in Siberia.

Did You Know?

• About 75% of the station's output is consumed by the Bratsk Aluminium Plant.

Engineering Scale & Structural Design

The Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Station rises as a massive concrete gravity dam along the Angara River, forming the second step in the river's cascade of hydroelectric installations within Irkutsk Oblast. Crowning the dam, the Taishet-Lena railway line runs alongside a vehicle road, giving the structure a dual transportation function. Although the Angara lacks through-ship routes and no navigational channels exist, the original design reserved space for a potential ship elevator. The dam is frequently cited as the second largest in the world by reservoir storage capacity.

From Blueprint to Commissioning

On December 21 of that year, the Nizhneangargasstroy department—later rechristened Bratskgasstroy—kicked off preparatory earthworks. The project was designated a Komsomol high-tempo priority, placing it under intense public scrutiny and ultimately earning many of its laborers state-level awards.

Industrial Heart of Siberia

From the moment its first generator spun up, the Bratsk station became the electrical backbone of an entire industrial region. Its 22.6 terawatt-hours of annual output feed hundreds of factories across the area, and roughly three-quarters of that energy is consumed by the Bratsk Aluminium Plant alone. The station was woven into what is known as the Bratsk territorial-production complex, a tightly integrated cluster where hydroelectric power and heavy manufacturing depend on one another. For the workers who built it and the communities that grew around it, the station became a defining symbol of Siberia's industrial transformation during the Soviet era.

Global Record and Ongoing Modernization

The entire design was the work of the Moscow-based Hydroproject institute. Today, the joint-stock company Irkutskenergo manages day-to-day operations, though all physical structures remain property of the Russian federal government. Recognizing that the 1960s-era turbines are aging, Irkutskenergo has partnered with JSC Silovii Mashini on a modernization program.

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