Oahe Dam’s layout is unique in that the power house is on the left bank, the outlet works on the right bank, and the spillway is one mile beyond the outlet works.

The first of Oahe’s seven 85,000 Kilowatt generators was put into operation in March 1962.  On August 17, 1962, President John F. Kennedy spoke at Oahe’s ‘Power on the Line’ dedication ceremony. The final generator went into operation in June 1963, and the $340-million Oahe project was completed in 1964 ahead of schedule and under budget! Oahe’s generators were upgrade in the 1980s and are now capable of producing 112,290 Kilowatts each, for a total potential output of 786,000 Kilowatts. Oahe is the largest power producer on the Missouri River, producing 2.8 billion Kilowatts annually, which is enough electricity to meet the annual needs of 259,000 homes.