It is a high head plant with a storage reservoir and utilizes the run-off of 33 square miles drainage area under a maximum operating head of 701 ft.
Water is discharged from the storage reservoir at Talbott Dam into the natural stream bed. This water combined with that which flows off the drainage area between the reservoir and Round Meadow Creek, is diverted by Townes Dam, constructed across Dan River just below Point Lookout.
From the diversion dam water is conveyed through 5400 ft. of wood stave pipe line and 4600 ft. of concrete lined tunnel terminating at a steel surge tank 700 ft. above the river. From this tank, water is conducted down the mountain through a welded steel penstock 1200 ft. to the center line of three 4500 H. P. impulse wheels at the Power House, directly connected with vertical shafts to three 3750 kVA-4160 volt generators.
From the Power House, a brick-concrete structure housing the generating
equipment, power is stepped up through an outdoor transformer station to
the 69,000 volt, H-frame, wood pole transmission line. This line, built
on a 100 ft. right-of-way, leads down Kibler Valley and skirts the foot
of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Stuart, running from there in a nearly
direct line to Danville, a distance of about 65 miles from the Power House
to the City limits.
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