At 33 megawatts (MW), Tongland is the largest power station in the Galloway Hydro Electric Power Scheme. It is also the most southerly located on the River Dee 2 miles (3 km) north of Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway Council Area. While still very much an operational power station, it is also home to the Galloway Hydros Visitor Centre which tells the story of the construction of the Galloway Scheme in the 1930s and the operation of the power station which contributes to the national electricity grid system. Built in 1935 in the Art Deco style, inside the power station modern switchgear lies alongside historic equipment, while guided tours include an exhibition, restored wood-panelled offices and the turbine hall, with its three 11 MW horizontal-running turbines. Drawing water from Tongland Loch and Loch Ken, power is generated at 11,500V and then stepped up to the 132,000V of the national grid by an associated transformer compound on the opposite side of the A711 road.
The power station is now operated remotely from a control centre at Glenlee Power Station and the scheme is the property of Drax Group, a Yorkshire-based power generation company, which bought the hydro-power assets of Scottish Power in 2018.
The Tongland Dam and Reservoir lie a half-mile (1 km) to the northeast.
