Guri Dam

Simón Bolívar Hydroelectric Plant Guri Dam
Location of Simón Bolívar Hydroelectric Plant Guri Dam in Venezuela
Official name	Central Hidroeléctrica Simón Bolívar
Location	Necuima Canyon, Bolívar
Coordinates	07°45′N 63°00′W / 7.750°N 63.000°W / 7.750; -63.000
Status	In use
Construction began	1963
Opening date	1978
Owner(s)	CVG Electrificación del Caroní, C.A.
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Gravity/embankment
Impounds	Caroni River
Height	162 m (531 ft)
Length	7,426 m (24,364 ft)
Dam volume	Concrete: 6,026,000 m3 (212,806,182 cu ft) Earth: 23,801,000 m3 (840,524,383 cu ft)
Spillway type	Service, controlled crest overflow
Spillway capacity	27,000 m3/s (953,496 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
Creates	Guri Reservoir
Total capacity	135,000,000,000 m3 (109,446,281 acre⋅ft)
Surface area	4,250 km2 (1,641 sq mi)
Power Station
Turbines	Francis Turbines. 10 × 725 MW 4 × 180 MW 3 × 400 MW 3 × 225 MW 1 × 340 MW[1][2]
Installed capacity	10,235 MW
Annual generation	47,000 GWh

The Simón Bolívar Hydroelectric Plant, also Guri Dam (Spanish: Central Hidroeléctrica Simón Bolívar or Represa de Guri), previously known as the Raúl Leoni Hydroelectric Plant, is a concrete gravity and embankment dam in Bolívar State, Venezuela, on the Caroni River, built from 1963 to 1969.^[3] It is 7,426 metres long and 162 m high.^[4] It impounds the large Guri Reservoir (Embalse de Guri)^[5] with a surface area of 4,250 square kilometres (1,641 sq mi).^[6]

The Guri Reservoir that supplies the dam is one of the largest on earth. The hydroelectric power station was once the largest worldwide in terms of installed capacity, replacing Grand Coulee HPP, but was surpassed by Brazil and Paraguay's Itaipu.^[7]