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Commissioned in 1963 and run by First Hydro, an Edison Mission Company, Ffestiniog was the UK's first pumped storage hydro-electric facility and is capable of a combined maximum output of 360 MW of electricity, in 60 seconds, from its four generating units.
A clean and energy efficient process, capable of rapid production to meet demand - once the instruction to generate is received from the National Grid Control Centre, Ffestiniog can produce its power for distribution through the England and Wales transmission system.
Only one third of Ffestiniog's station complex can be seen above ground level, the remaining two thirds are buried deep
within the Moelwyn Mountains. Over 142,000 tonnes of rock were excavated during the construction of the station complex, and when the tunnels and reservoirs were completed, a total of one million tonnes of earth and rock had been removed.
The Visitor Centre contains a range of interactive displays and exhibitions audio-visual and lecture theatres, and a cafe. Tours of the power station also start and end here.
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