La Coche hydroelectric power plant

Commissioned in 1976, this power plant is connected to the La Coche and Aigueblanche reservoirs. It works according to the innovative principle of a Pumped Energy Transfer Station (STEP). The principle is straightforward: to generate electricity, the water from the lake upstream (La Coche) is channelled through turbines then delivered to another lake downstream (Aigueblanche). In low water periods, the water is pumped back up to the reservoir upstream thanks to reversible turbines. Potential energy reserves are thus re-established, which can be harnessed at any time to meet peaks in consumption. The new power plant, fitted with a Pelton wheel, the most powerful turbine in France, which was inaugurated in 2019, can increase its power by 25%. It has an annual output of about 100 GWh, the equivalent of 265,000 inhabitants' energy consumption (i.e. covering more than 60% of Savoie's population).There is another E-BIKE route you can head out along as far as La Coche dam.