La Tuque dam and hydroelectric station, present day.

WATER POWER

Both the hydroelectric potential of the Saint-Maurice River and its grandeur are impressive. In the early 20^th century, Brown Corporation and the Shawinigan Water and Power Company (SWPC) were the first to spot the opportunity to produce electricity using the river’s source. They merged to form the Saint-Maurice Corporation in 1930. Together, they made their dream of building a large generating station in the heart of the city a reality and played a role in the hydroelectric development of Haut-Saint-Maurice. The previous generating station was developed downstream of the current site.

Construction of La Tuque hydroelectric station between 1938 and 1940.

La Tuque generating station

Construction work on La Tuque generating station began in 1938 and was completed in 1940 with the start of World War II in 1939 as a backdrop. The generating station’s distinctive architecture is Art Deco inspired. This architectural style was particularly favoured by Shawinigan Engineering, the SWPC subsidiary that managed the project. The generating station spans over 400 m from one bank to the other and is 35 m high, the equivalent of a nine-story building. The 294-megawatt La Tuque generating station is the second most powerful station on the Saint-Maurice River.

Following an investment of $11.9 million, equivalent to $200 million today, groups one to four of the new station’s turbine generator units became operational in 1940, followed by group five turbine units in 1943, and group six in 1955. In 1963, following the second nationalization of Quebec’s private electric companies, Hydro-Québec acquired SWPC’s assets. Hydro-Québec installed even more efficient turbine generators during the 2000s.

One river, ten generating stations!

Did you know that the Gouin reservoir is the Saint-Maurice River’s source? Every drop of water that flows into the river passes through the turbines of five other generating stations upstream before it is turbined by La Tuque station. The powerful river flows a total of 381 km from north to south, where it empties into the St. Lawrence River near Trois-Rivières. All along its course, the Saint-Maurice River receives inflows from 100 tributaries and 36,000 lakes. Just imagine all that power!

No fewer than 10 generating stations are still operational (from north to south): Chute-Allard, Rapides-des-Cœurs, Rapide-Blanc, Trenche, Beaumont, La Tuque, Rocher-de-Grand-Mère, Shawinigan-2, Shawinigan-3 and La Gabelle.