Paute Dam

Paute Dam
Location	Paute, Ecuador
Coordinates	02°35′10″S 78°33′30″W / 2.58611°S 78.55833°W / -2.58611; -78.55833Coordinates: 02°35′10″S 78°33′30″W / 2.58611°S 78.55833°W / -2.58611; -78.55833
Construction began	1976
Opening date	1983
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Arch-gravity dam
Height	170 m (558 ft)
Length	420 m (1,378 ft)
Impounds	Paute River
Reservoir
Creates	Paute Reservoir
Capacity	120,000,000 m3 (4.2×109 cu ft)
Power station
Installed capacity	1,075 MW

The Paute Dam, also known as the Daniel Palacios Dam and the Amaluza Dam, is the largest hydroelectric dam in Ecuador. It is located on the Paute River, 125 km from Cuenca. After the privatization of power generation that began in 1996 under the government of Sixto Durán Ballén, the dam passed into the hands of the company Hidropaute SA and then returned to state ownership during the government of Rafael Correa when Hidropaute became part of the Ecuador Electricity Corporation (Corporación Eléctrica del Ecuador, CELEC).

Paute was constructed between 1976 and 1983 on the Paute River and designed on the premise that it would be erected upstream of the Mazar Dam. In late 2009, low water levels at the dam were the primary cause of an electricity crisis in Ecuador.

See also

• List of conventional hydroelectric power stations

External links

• History of the Paute Dam (Spanish)