Seneca Pumped Storage Generating Station

Infobox_Power_Station
station_name= Seneca Pumped Storage
Generating Station


location= Warren County,
Pennsylvania
owner= FirstEnergy
status= Peak
fuel_type= Hydroelectric
technology= Water turbine
turbines=
pumped_storage= yes
max_capacity= 435 MW
commissioned= 1970
decommissioned=
extra= Adjacent to Kinzua Dam in the Allegheny National Forest

The Seneca Pumped Storage Generating Station is a hydroelectric power plant using pumped storage of water to generate electric power. It is located near Warren, Pennsylvania in Warren County.

Seneca Station is colocated with the Kinzua Dam, near Warren, Pennsylvania. The dam was built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers to regulate the Allegheny River as part of a larger flood control project, and, as a secondary role, to generate hydroelectric power. It created the Allegheny Reservoir, a lake that stretches convert|25|mi|km|0|lk=on upriver.

The power plant, rated at 435 MW, was built by the Pennsylvania Electric Company and Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company. It began commercial operation in 1970. Through business mergers and acquisitions, the plant is now owned by FirstEnergy, an operator of several base load (nuclear and coal-fired) power plants.

Pumped storage plants function similarly to a storage battery; They absorb excess power generated by such plants in off-peak hours, such as nighttime, using it to pump water into a reservoir. Later, when demand exceeds the base load, the flow of water from the reservoir generates additional electrical power to meet peak load demands.