The Salto Santiago Hydroelectric Power Plant is a dam and hydroelectric power plant on the Iguazu River near Santiago in Paraná, Brazil. It is the third dam upstream of the Iguazu Falls and was completed in 1979. The power station has a 1,420 MW capacity and is supplied with water by a rock-fill embankment dam. It is owned and operated by Tractebel Energia.

Salto Santiago Dam

The Salto Santiago Dam is 80 m high, 1400 m long and is of rock-fill embankment type, comprising 518200 m3 in concrete structure. The dam's spillways contains nine 21.5 m wide and 15.3 m wide radial gates and has a maximum capacity of 24000 m3/s. The reservoir formed behind the dam contains 4094000000 m3 of total storage with a surface area of 208 km2 and a catchment area of 43330 km2. The average flow of the river through the dam is 902 m3/s and the reservoir has a normal operating level of 506 m.

Power plant

The power plant at the southern end of the dam contains four 355 MW hydroelectric generators powered by Francis turbines. Each turbine has a rated discharge of 346 m3/s and is fed by a 7.6 m diameter steel penstock which provides a gross hydraulic head of 106 m. The remaining two penstocks are intended for future generators with a plant expansion. The first generator was commissioned on December 31, 1980, with another in 1981, two in 1982 the last of which was commissioned on September 16, 1982.