Batak Hydropower Cascade

The Batak Hydroelectric Cascade (Bulgarian: Баташки водносилов път, translit. Batashki Vodnosilov Pat) is situated in the Pazardzhik Province, southern Bulgaria and is among the first hydroelectric cascades in the country. Inaugurated on 6 September 1959, it includes seven reservoirs and three underground hydro power plants — Batak, Peshtera and Aleko with a combined installed capacity of 254.2 MW, producing an average of 796 GWh annually.

Located in the Rhodope Mountains, the complex receives waters from the drainage basins of the Chepinska reka, Stara reka and Vacha, right tributaries of the Maritsa, as well as the Dospat, a left tributary of the Mesta. Its catchment area is 761 km spanning from an altitude of 2,186 m at the summit of Golyama Syutkya to 452 m at the town of Peshtera.