Five decades after the construction of Vacha dam and Orpheus pumped-storage hydropower plant, NEK marked the anniversary of the two facilities with a festive event dedicated to the people who created and preserved this significant hydropower heritage.
"I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the teams at Vacha Dam and Orpheus pumped-storage power plant for their professionalism, dedication and outstanding achievements over the years," emphasized NEK Executive Director Georgi Dobrov. " Since their creation, these impressive hydraulic structures have been of strategic importance – not only for the region and its inhabitants, but also for the energy security of the whole country," he said.
Among the guests at the event were Deputy Minister of Energy Georgi Samandov, Plovdiv Regional Governor Prof. Dr. Hristina Yancheva, and Mayor of Krichim Municipality Atanas Kalchev, as well as veterans—engineers, technicians, and managers who participated in the construction in the 1970s. They recalled the scale and challenges of the project, and today their work is continued by new generations of energy professionals who maintain the facilities in excellent technical condition and ensure their reliability in the current conditions of energy transition. The first manager of Orpheus PSHPP, Atanas Chelebiev, was also an honored guest at the ceremony. His professional career at the plant is a true inspiration for young energy professionals.
During the ceremony, honorary plaques were presented to the managers of Vacha dam service area and Orpheus pumped-storage hydropower plant, Vlado Boyarov and Plamen Dimitrov. The guests viewed a photo exhibition presenting key moments in the construction and development of the facilities – a bridge between the past and the present of Bulgarian hydropower.
Located in the Rhodopes, about 15 km from the town of Krichim, the enchantingly beautiful Vacha Dam is part of the Dospat-Vacha cascade, a key energy scheme with a storage capacity of over 675 million m³ of water. The construction of Vacha reservoir was carried out between 1968 and 1975. The reservoir, which is about 10 km long, was built as an annual flow-control reservoir with a total storage capacity of 226.2 million m³ and a flooded area of 5.0 km².
With a height of 144.5 m, Vacha dam is the highest in Bulgaria. It is built as a concrete gravity structure with buttresses, 420 m long at the crest. Its main purpose is the energy use of water as part of the overall cascade operation.
The Orpheus pumped storage plant, built into the body of the dam, has been in operation since 1975. It has four units with an installed capacity of 160 MW in the generating mode and 47 MW in the pumping mode, producing approximately 229 GWh annually. The plant can process up to 168 m³/s at an average head of 120 m.
Half a century after their commissioning, Vacha Dam and Orpheus PSHPP continue to be examples of engineering precision and sustainability, providing reliable energy and stability to the power system of Bulgaria.
