The Bad Creek pumped storage project was finished in 1991, one of the most recently constructed pumped storage projects in the USA. The Bad Creek Hydro Pumped Storage Station pumps water up 1,200 feet from Lake Jocassee to a 370-acre upper storage reservoir, built and operated by Duke Energy. The four pump/turbines in the underground power station produce as much as 1,065 megawatts for a few hours, when water runs back down to Lake Jocassee. Bad Creek is part of Duke Power’s regional Keowee-Toxaway Hydroelectric Project.
