The Pieman River Power Development was approved by Parliament in 1971. Construction did not begin until 1974, and the scheme was completed in 1987.

The development is made up of three power stations, five dams and a number of associated works. It harnesses the water of one of the largest rivers on the west coast, the Pieman, and two of its major tributaries, the Murchison and the Mackintosh.

The catchment area for the development covers about 2700 square kilometres, and has an average annual rainfall of 2400mm.

Water from Lake Murchison, which was formed by building a dam on the Murchison River, is diverted into Lake Mackintosh by the 2000 metre Sophia Tunnel. Lake Mackintosh is the main storage for the development, and the Mackintosh Power Station is at the foot of the dam.

The power station discharges water into Lake Rosebery, the first of two storages on the Pieman River. Water from Lake Rosebery passes through the Bastyan Power Station, then flows into Lake Pieman before it passes through the Reece Power Station.

The Pieman Development involved the construction of major new roads, and several bridges. The construction village was located at Tullah, about one kilometre south of the old mining town.

Great care was taken to reduce the impact of construction activities, and revegetation programs involved the planting of 25,000 trees and the restoration of over 100 hectares of land around various construction sites.

The combined generating capacity of the three power stations in the Pieman River Power Development produces about 17.3% of Tasmania's power needs.

All the power stations are unattended, and are remotely controlled from the control centre near Sheffield.

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