Built beginning in 1944 By Cominco, Ltd., its primary purpose at the time was to supply electricity to Cominco's smelter in Trail, BC. Surplus power was supplied to the local grid for residential and commercial use.
Cominco built a larger dam at Waneta, closer to the smelter, in 1954, but continued to operate this dam until 1996 when it was sold to the Columbia Basin Trust and Columbia Power Corp. Originally it housed 2 27 MW Francis turbines.
The dam is 42.6 metres high, with a head of 28 metres, and has eight sluice gates. In 2000 the facility was upgraded with four turbines generating a total of 145 MW of electricity.
In 2003, the Columbia Power Corporation began the Brilliant expansion. A 120 MW powerhouse was added which will use excess water beyond the capacity of the original powerhouse. Completed in 2007, the combined generation is now 265 MW.
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