The Chicoasén Dam - Manuel M. Torres is an embankment dam and hydroelectric power station on the Grijalva River near Chicoasén in Chiapas, Mexico. The dam's power plant, known as "Manuel Moreno Torres" contains 5 x 300 MW, 3 x 310 MW Francis turbine-generators. Torres was Comisión Federal de Electricidad's (the dam's owner) Director General in the later 1950s. The original generators were first operational in 1980 while the 310 MW units were ordered in 2000 and operational by 2005. Since then, the hydroelectric power station is the largest in Mexico. The dam was designed in the early 1970s and constructed between 1974 and 1980 under topographical and geological constraints. It is an earth and rock fill embankment type with a height of 261 m (856 ft) and length of 485 m (1,591 ft). It withholds a reservoir of 1,613,000,000 m3 (1,307,680 acre·ft) and lies at the head of a 52,600 km2 (20,309 sq mi) catchment area.
Chicoasén Dam
Official name Presa Manuel M. Torres
Country Mexico
Locale Chicoasén, Chiapas
Status In use
Construction began 1974
Opening date 1980
Owner(s) Comisión Federal de Electricidad
Dam and spillways
Height 261 m (856 ft)
Length 485 m (1,591 ft)
Impounds Grijalva River
Reservoir
Creates Chicoasén Reservoir
Capacity 1,613,000,000 m3 (1,307,680 acre·ft)
Catchment area 52,600 km2 (20,309 sq mi)
Power station
Commission date 1980-2005
Turbines 5 x 300 MW, 3 x 310 MW Francis turbines
Installed capacity 2,430 MW