Slovenia – Construction of the rst hydropower plant on the river Drava began in 1913. This was the Fala hydropower plant, which was at the same time the biggest hydropower plant in the Eastern Alps.

Until 1918, when the Fala plant began operating, the ow of the Drava was unimpeded along the entire length of the river. The river was part of the timber rafting route that saw timber from richly forested areas transported downstream through the basins of the Drava and Danube and on towards the Black Sea. Before construction of the railway, the Drava was the only way to transport timber and other goods. Even after the advent of the railway, it remained the cheapest route. It was for this reason that the concession contract granted to the builders of the hydropower plant contained a clause requiring them to enable the passage of timber rafts past the hydropower plant. At that time up to twenty rafts consisting of between 90 and 100 cubic metres of timber passed down the Drava every day from spring to early autumn. The builders therefore built a lock system for rafts and a shway for sh at Fala.

The rst three generators came on line on 6 May 1918, followed by a fourth on 9 May and a fth on 23 May.

Today the Fala hydropower plant – the oldest still operating large hydropower plant in Slovenia – is part of a chain of eight hydropower plants on the Drava operated by Dravske elektrarne Maribor.

In 2008 a government decree proclaimed the Fala hydropower plant a cultural monument of national importance.

Majna Šilih
Head of Public Relations Dravske elektrarne Maribor