Harnessing the waters of the Great Lake began in 1910, when a private company began work on an ambitious project to divert water from the Great Lake and the Shannon River to a power station at Waddamana.

The State Government brought the hydro-electric undertaking from the near bankrupt company in 1914, formed the Hydro-Electric Department and charged the department with the task of completing the first phase of the scheme. The first two generators came into service in May 1916.

The demand for electricity increased and Waddamana 'A' (as the first power station became known) was enlarged between 1918 and 1923. Seven more generators were installed, a large state-of-the-art multiple arch concrete dam to raise the level of the Great Lake was built at Miena, and the upper reacher of the Ouse River were diverted into the Great Lake by a flume and canal.

To use the fall of water between the Great Lake and the power station at Waddamana, Shannon Power Station was built and began operation on 1931. This development was phased out in 1964.

Between 1939 and 1949 a second power station, Waddamana 'B', was built at right angles to the original Waddamana 'A' station. This contains four turbines and at present is used as a stand-by station. The future of this development is currently under review. The three power stations, Waddamana 'A' and 'B' and Shannon, operating together between 1949 and 1964, had a total generating capacity of 107.5 MW.

In 1957 a decision was made to stop the water flowing south from the Great Lake and take it north by a tunnel through the Western Tiers, and then to an underground power station to be built at Poatina. The increase in 'head' (height) the water would fall before driving the turbine meant that more electricity could be generated from the same amount of water.

Completed in 1964, Poatina Power Station is a huge underground cavern which houses six turbo-generators. When fully operational it produces about 12% of the state's power needs. To further augment the water in the Great Lake, Arthurs Lake was enlarged, and a pumping station constructed. Water from Arthurs Lake is pumped up a hill, and as it falls to the Great Lake it drives a small generator in the unattended Tods Corner Power Station, which is on the shore of the lake.

Water leaving Poatina eventually flows into the South Esk River. The Launceston City Council built a small hydro-electric development, Duck Reach, on this river late last century. Duck Reach began operating in 1895 and was de-commissioned in 1955 when Trevallyn came on line.

The Trevallyn Power Station, just north of Launceston on the banks of the Tamar River, began operation in 1955. It is a run-of-the-river station because it has very little storage and makes use of the daily flows down the South Esk River.

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