# Smith Mountain

PJM Conventional Hydroelectric, Hydroelectric Pumped Storage · https://askthegrid.com/assets/facilities/smith-mountain

Smith Mountain is a battery energy storage facility with 547.5 MW of EIA-reported nameplate capacity in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, registered as EIA Plant ID 3780. Appalachian Power Company owns and operates the plant. The broader Smith Mountain Project is the largest hydroelectric facility on the American Electric Power system. Commercial operation began in December 1965.

## Key facts

- Technology: Conventional Hydroelectric, Hydroelectric Pumped Storage
- Power capacity: 547.5 MW
- Operating status: operating

## Grid and market context

- ISO/RTO: PJM
- Balancing authority: PJM
- Substation: Smith Mountain 138 kV Station
- Point of interconnection: Smith Mountain 138 kV Station
- Transmission owner: AEP, through Appalachian Power Company
- Interconnection voltage: 138 kV

## Source-backed facts

- Owner logo domain: appalachianpower.com — About Smith Mountain Project · confidence: high
- Identifiers: [{"value":"3780","system":"EIA plant ID"},{"value":"P-2210","system":"FERC project"},{"value":"PJM","system":"ISO/RTO balancing authority"},{"value":"PJM","system":"ISO/RTO power market"},{"value":"89394201","system":"GATS unit ID — Smith Mountain Unit 1"},{"value":"89394202","system":"GATS unit ID — Smith Mountain Unit 2"},{"value":"89394203","system":"GATS unit ID — Smith Mountain Unit 3"},{"value":"89394204","system":"GATS unit ID — Smith Mountain Unit 4"},{"value":"89394205","system":"GATS unit ID — Smith Mountain Unit 5"}] — APPALACHIAN POWER FILES LICENSE REQUEST FOR... · confidence: medium
- Identifiers: [{"value":"3780","system":"EIA plant ID"},{"value":"P-2210","system":"FERC project"},{"value":"PJM","system":"ISO/RTO balancing authority"},{"value":"PJM","system":"ISO/RTO power market"},{"value":"89394201","system":"GATS unit ID — Smith Mountain Unit 1"},{"value":"89394202","system":"GATS unit ID — Smith Mountain Unit 2"},{"value":"89394203","system":"GATS unit ID — Smith Mountain Unit 3"},{"value":"89394204","system":"GATS unit ID — Smith Mountain Unit 4"},{"value":"89394205","system":"GATS unit ID — Smith Mountain Unit 5"}] — Source · confidence: medium
- Official project url: https://www.smithmtn.com/ — About Smith Mountain Project · confidence: high
- Owner name: Appalachian Power Company — About Smith Mountain Project · confidence: medium
- Description: Smith Mountain is an operating hydroelectric power plant in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, with 547.5 MW of nameplate capacity. The plant has five operational generating units and uses hydroelectric and pumped-storage technology. It is operated by Appalachian Power Company and is part of the Smith Mountain Project, a two-reservoir hydroelectric project on the Roanoke River. — About Smith Mountain Project · confidence: medium
- Parties: [{"relationship":"Operator and FERC licensee","name":"Appalachian Power Company","official_url":"https://www.appalachianpower.com/"},{"relationship":"Parent company","name":"American Electric Power (AEP)","official_url":"https://www.aep.com/"}] — About Smith Mountain Project · confidence: high
- Parties: [{"relationship":"Operator and FERC licensee","name":"Appalachian Power Company","official_url":"https://www.appalachianpower.com/"},{"relationship":"Parent company","name":"American Electric Power (AEP)","official_url":"https://www.aep.com/"}] — Smith Mountain Cooperative · confidence: high
- Identifiers.1: {"value":"P-2210","system":"FERC project"} — APPALACHIAN POWER FILES LICENSE REQUEST FOR... · confidence: high
- Identifiers.4: {"value":"89394201","system":"GATS unit ID — Smith Mountain Unit 1"} — Source · confidence: medium
- Identifiers.5: {"value":"89394202","system":"GATS unit ID — Smith Mountain Unit 2"} — Source · confidence: medium
- Identifiers.6: {"value":"89394203","system":"GATS unit ID — Smith Mountain Unit 3"} — Source · confidence: medium
- Identifiers.7: {"value":"89394204","system":"GATS unit ID — Smith Mountain Unit 4"} — Source · confidence: medium
- Identifiers.8: {"value":"89394205","system":"GATS unit ID — Smith Mountain Unit 5"} — Source · confidence: medium
- Parties.0: {"relationship":"Operator and FERC licensee","name":"Appalachian Power Company","official_url":"https://www.appalachianpower.com/"} — About Smith Mountain Project · confidence: high
- Parties.1: {"relationship":"Parent company","name":"American Electric Power (AEP)","official_url":"https://www.aep.com/"} — About Smith Mountain Project · confidence: high
- Interconnection: Smith Mountain 138-kV substation/station — New Service Queue Update 2018 · confidence: medium
- Interconnection: Smith Mountain 138-kV substation/station — Market Efficiency Update · confidence: medium
- Unit configuration: Five hydroelectric units totaling 547.5 MW: Units 1, 3, and 5 are hydro pumped-storage units rated 66 MW, 150.1 MW, and 150.1 MW; Units 2 and 4 are conventional hydro units rated 66 MW and 115.3 MW. — Source · confidence: medium
- Power mw: 547.5 — Source · confidence: medium
- Unit count: 5 — Source · confidence: medium
- Construction scope: Existing Smith Mountain Project comprising two developments: the Smith Mountain pumped-storage station and the Leesville conventional hydroelectric station. The project includes two dams, two reservoirs/lakes, two powerhouses, intakes and penstocks, spillways, and turbine-generating equipment. Smith Mountain has five generating units: three pump-turbine generators and two turbine generators. Leesville has two generating units, with a combined capacity of 50 MW. The dams were constructed in the 1960s; the Smith Mountain Dam is a concrete arch dam and Leesville Dam is a concrete gravity dam. — Source · confidence: high
- Construction scope: Existing Smith Mountain Project comprising two developments: the Smith Mountain pumped-storage station and the Leesville conventional hydroelectric station. The project includes two dams, two reservoirs/lakes, two powerhouses, intakes and penstocks, spillways, and turbine-generating equipment. Smith Mountain has five generating units: three pump-turbine generators and two turbine generators. Leesville has two generating units, with a combined capacity of 50 MW. The dams were constructed in the 1960s; the Smith Mountain Dam is a concrete arch dam and Leesville Dam is a concrete gravity dam. — About Smith Mountain Project · confidence: high
- Kind: hydro — Source · confidence: high
- Equipment models.2: {"manufacturer_domain":null,"product_url":null,"count":2,"unit_mw":null,"name":"Leesville generating units; equipment type not specified"} — Source · confidence: high
- Significance: The broader Smith Mountain Project is the largest hydroelectric facility on the American Electric Power system. Its pumped-storage configuration uses Smith Mountain Lake as the upper reservoir and Leesville Lake as the lower reservoir to shift generation toward periods of high electricity demand. — About Smith Mountain Project · confidence: medium
- Quality notes: ["The EIA plant record reports 547.5 MW and five operational units for plant 3780, while project-level sources describe the combined Smith Mountain and Leesville development as a 636 MW project; these figures should not be treated as identical scopes.","The predecessor-rights transaction is documented as occurring in 1954, but the available historical accounts do not specify a transaction month or day. The documented transaction was a purchase of lands and rights rather than an identified purchase of the entire operating project.","The disclosed $66 million figure is the total historical project cost for the Smith Mountain and Leesville dams, not identified project financing or sale consideration. no retirement or repowering milestone is documented. Project-level narrative sources also differ on first generation timing, so the timeline uses the plant-specific EIA date of 1965."] — FERC approves new 30-year licence for Smith Mountain - International Water Power · confidence: medium
- Quality notes: ["The EIA plant record reports 547.5 MW and five operational units for plant 3780, while project-level sources describe the combined Smith Mountain and Leesville development as a 636 MW project; these figures should not be treated as identical scopes.","The predecessor-rights transaction is documented as occurring in 1954, but the available historical accounts do not specify a transaction month or day. The documented transaction was a purchase of lands and rights rather than an identified purchase of the entire operating project.","The disclosed $66 million figure is the total historical project cost for the Smith Mountain and Leesville dams, not identified project financing or sale consideration. no retirement or repowering milestone is documented. Project-level narrative sources also differ on first generation timing, so the timeline uses the plant-specific EIA date of 1965."] — Source · confidence: medium
- Financing summary: No project-financing instrument, debt or bond issue, transaction price, or sale consideration is disclosed. Historical sources report a total project cost of $66 million for the Smith Mountain and Leesville dams by 1966; separately, a 1958 Federal Power Commission application described a proposed $45 million project. These figures are project-cost or application estimates, not identified financing amounts or acquisition consideration. — Source · confidence: medium
- Financing summary: No project-financing instrument, debt or bond issue, transaction price, or sale consideration is disclosed. Historical sources report a total project cost of $66 million for the Smith Mountain and Leesville dams by 1966; separately, a 1958 Federal Power Commission application described a proposed $45 million project. These figures are project-cost or application estimates, not identified financing amounts or acquisition consideration. — Project Filed With F.P.C. - The New York... · confidence: medium
- Quality notes.0: The EIA plant record reports 547.5 MW and five operational units for plant 3780, while project-level sources describe the combined Smith Mountain and Leesville development as a 636 MW project; these figures should not be treated as identical scopes. — FERC approves new 30-year licence for Smith Mountain - International Water Power · confidence: medium
- Quality notes.2: The disclosed $66 million figure is the total historical project cost for the Smith Mountain and Leesville dams, not identified project financing or sale consideration. — Source · confidence: medium
- Quality notes.2: The disclosed $66 million figure is the total historical project cost for the Smith Mountain and Leesville dams, not identified project financing or sale consideration. — Project Filed With F.P.C. - The New York... · confidence: medium
- Quality notes.3: The plant is recorded as operational with five operational units and no planned units; no retirement or repowering milestone is documented. Project-level narrative sources also differ on first generation timing, so the timeline uses the plant-specific EIA date of 1965. — About Smith Mountain Project · confidence: medium
- Commercial parties.0: {"relationship":"Operator and FERC licensee","name":"Appalachian Power Company","detail":"Operates the Smith Mountain Project and is licensed by FERC. It is the Appalachian Power entity associated with the 1954 acquisition of the predecessor lands and rights.","official_url":"https://www.appalachianpower.com/"} — FERC approves new 30-year licence for Smith Mountain - International Water Power · confidence: medium
- Commercial parties.0: {"relationship":"Operator and FERC licensee","name":"Appalachian Power Company","detail":"Operates the Smith Mountain Project and is licensed by FERC. It is the Appalachian Power entity associated with the 1954 acquisition of the predecessor lands and rights.","official_url":"https://www.appalachianpower.com/"} — About Smith Mountain Project · confidence: medium
- Commercial parties.1: {"relationship":"Parent company","name":"American Electric Power","detail":"Appalachian Power is identified as a subsidiary of American Electric Power (AEP).","official_url":"https://www.aep.com/"} — About Smith Mountain Project · confidence: high
- Commercial parties.1: {"relationship":"Parent company","name":"American Electric Power","detail":"Appalachian Power is identified as a subsidiary of American Electric Power (AEP).","official_url":"https://www.aep.com/"} — Smith Mountain Project · confidence: high
- Timeline.3: {"event":"Construction authorization and start","date":"1960","detail":"Appalachian Power received authorization on April 26, 1960, and construction began later that summer."} — Source · confidence: medium
- Timeline.3: {"event":"Construction authorization and start","date":"1960","detail":"Appalachian Power received authorization on April 26, 1960, and construction began later that summer."} — About Smith Mountain Project · confidence: medium
- Timeline.4: {"event":"Principal construction completed","date":"1963","detail":"The project’s principal construction was completed in 1963, and the dam gates were closed that year."} — About Smith Mountain Project · confidence: high
- Timeline.7: {"event":"Additional generating capacity","date":"1980","detail":"A power-industry history reports additional Smith Mountain capacity was added in 1980; the EIA plant record identifies the five-unit online period as 1965–1980."} — The Generating Company Challenge: Manage Change... · confidence: medium
- Timeline.8: {"event":"Relicensing application","date":"2008-03-28","detail":"Appalachian Power filed with FERC for a new license; the existing 50-year license was scheduled to expire in March 2010."} — APPALACHIAN POWER FILES LICENSE REQUEST FOR SMITH MOUNTAIN · confidence: high
- Timeline.9: {"event":"New FERC license","date":"2009-12-18","detail":"FERC granted Appalachian Power a new 30-year license to continue operating the Smith Mountain pumped-storage project, effective in 2010."} — FERC approves new 30-year licence for Smith Mountain - International Water Power · confidence: high
- Timeline.9: {"event":"New FERC license","date":"2009-12-18","detail":"FERC granted Appalachian Power a new 30-year license to continue operating the Smith Mountain pumped-storage project, effective in 2010."} — About Smith Mountain Project · confidence: high

## Timeline

- 1956 — Preliminary permit
  Appalachian Power filed a preliminary permit with the Federal Power Commission for a planned 60 MW, 200-foot-high dam; later design work expanded the concept into a two-dam, pumped-storage project.
  Source: SML History | Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce (https://www.visitsmithmountainlake.com/sml-history/)
- 1963 — Principal construction completed
  The project’s principal construction was completed in 1963, and the dam gates were closed that year.
  Source: About Smith Mountain Project (https://www.smithmtn.com/about/)
- 1966-03-07 — Reservoirs reach full pool and project cost reported
  Smith Mountain Lake reached full pond at 5:03 a.m. on March 7, 1966. Historical project material reports $66 million in total cost for the Smith Mountain and Leesville dams.
  Source: SML History | Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce (https://www.visitsmithmountainlake.com/sml-history/)
- 2008-03-28 — Relicensing application
  Appalachian Power filed with FERC for a new license; the existing 50-year license was scheduled to expire in March 2010.
  Source: APPALACHIAN POWER FILES LICENSE REQUEST FOR SMITH MOUNTAIN (https://www.appalachianpower.com/company/news/view?releaseID=2015)

## Sources

- [About Smith Mountain Project](https://www.smithmtn.com/about/) — smithmtn.com · tier other
- [APPALACHIAN POWER FILES LICENSE REQUEST FOR SMITH MOUNTAIN](https://www.appalachianpower.com/company/news/view?releaseID=2015) — appalachianpower.com · tier other
- [Source](https://www.puc.pa.gov/electric/pdf/Qualified_Alternative_Energy_Systems.pdf) — puc.pa.gov · tier regulatory
- [Smith Mountain Project](https://www.smithmtn.com/) — smithmtn.com · tier other
- [Smith Mountain Cooperative](https://www.aep.com/recreation/areas/smithmountain/) — aep.com · tier other
- [New Service Queue Update 2018](https://www.pjm.com/-/media/DotCom/committees-groups/committees/teac/20180913/20180913-new-service-queue-update-2018.ashx) — pjm.com · tier other
- [Market Efficiency Update](https://www.pjm.com/-/media/DotCom/committees-groups/committees/teac/2025/20250805/20250805-item-03---market-efficiency-update.pdf) — pjm.com · tier other
- [Source](https://leesvillelake.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/241547_DEQ-Draft-Permit-Package.pdf) — leesvillelake.org · tier other
- [H y power Hypower](https://www.voith.com/corp-en/93_Voith_HyPower_14_02_en.pdf) — voith.com · tier other
- [We offer generator solutions for all ranges of speed, ...](https://www.voith.com/corp-en/hydropower-components/generators.html) — voith.com · tier other
- [Turbines & shut-off valves](https://www.voith.com/corp-en/products-services/hydropower-components/turbines.html) — voith.com · tier other
- [FERC approves new 30-year licence for Smith Mountain - International Water Power](https://www.waterpowermagazine.com/news/ferc-approves-new-30-year-licence-for-smith-mountain/) — waterpowermagazine.com · tier other
- [SML History | Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce](https://www.visitsmithmountainlake.com/sml-history/) — visitsmithmountainlake.com · tier other
- [Source](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/63fe26fe06d484045f84a37d/t/64495eb649b5de186bcff299/1682529974840/SMLHistoryWeb.pdf) — static1.squarespace.com · tier other
- [Project Filed With F.P.C. - The New York ...](https://www.nytimes.com/1958/08/26/archives/project-filed-with-fpc.html) — nytimes.com · tier other
- [The Generating Company Challenge: Manage Change ...](https://www.powermag.com/generating-company-challenge-manage-change-maintaining-reliability/) — powermag.com · tier other
- [Some Appalachian Power property on Smith Mountain Lake will be sold](https://www.aepohio.com/company/news/view?releaseID=3109) — aepohio.com · tier other
- [Market Efficiency Update](https://www.pjm.com/-/media/DotCom/committees-groups/committees/teac/2025/20250304/20250304-item-03---market-efficiency-update.pdf) — pjm.com · tier other
- [View News Release](https://www.smithmtn.com/about/news/detail/?id=10754) — smithmtn.com · tier other
- [Appalachian Power Implements Drought Operations to Help Conserve Water at Smith Mountain Lake](https://www.appalachianpower.com/company/news/view?releaseID=11943) — appalachianpower.com · tier other
- [Smith Mountain Pumped Storage Project FERC No. 2210](https://smithmountainproject.com/docs/SMP_Main_Document_without_Appendices_approved_by_FERC_February_18_2025.pdf) — smithmountainproject.com · tier other

## Data quality

- The EIA plant record reports 547.5 MW and five operational units for plant 3780, while project-level sources describe the combined Smith Mountain and Leesville development as a 636 MW project; these figures should not be treated as identical scopes. The predecessor-rights transaction is documented as occurring in 1954, but the available historical accounts do not specify a transaction month or day. The documented transaction was a purchase of lands and rights rather than an identified purchase of the entire operating project. The disclosed $66 million figure is the total historical project cost for the Smith Mountain and Leesville dams, not identified project financing or sale consideration. The plant is recorded as operational with five operational units and no planned units; no retirement or repowering milestone is documented. Project-level narrative sources also differ on first generation timing, so the timeline uses the plant-specific EIA date of 1965.

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Canonical page: https://askthegrid.com/assets/facilities/smith-mountain

Source: Ask the Grid — https://askthegrid.com/