ROCKY MOUNT, Va., June 23, 2011 –   Appalachian Power has reopened its Visitors Center and observation area at the Smith Mountain Hydroelectric Project.

            The company has been performing maintenance and working on the exhibit area at the site located on the Bedford County side of the Smith Mountain gap. The work kept the location closed to the public for about a month.

            Appalachian Power has been updating exhibits which tell the history of the project and show how power is generated at the unique two-lake complex. Adjustments and other minor work will continue from time to time at the site, but visitors will still be able to enjoy and learn from their visit.

            A formal reopening and dedication will be held at a later date this year.

            The center is open Tuesday through Saturday each week, from 9:00 a.m. until 5 p.m. Exhibits and the overlook area close at 4:30 p.m. The center is open on Sundays between 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. through Labor Day

There is no admission charge. Visitors can follow signs from Route 40 to “Smith Mountain Dam.”

            The picnic area located below the Smith Mountain Dam on Leesville Lake is open to the public every day of the week.

Smith Mountain Project is a 636-megawatt pumped storage hydroelectric facility that utilizes an upper reservoir (Smith Mountain Lake) and a lower reservoir (Leesville Lake).  Water stored in Smith Mountain Lake first passes through turbine-generators in the powerhouse to produce electricity and is discharged into Leesville Lake.  Most of the water is retained in Leesville Lake and pumped back into the Smith Mountain Lake for re-use.  A portion of the water goes through the turbine-generators at the Leesville powerhouse to generate additional electricity and to meet the minimum discharge requirements of the project's operating license. 

            Appalachian Power provides electricity to 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee (as AEP Appalachian Power). It is a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, with more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. 

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