With the exception of small run-of-the-river projects such as Charles Tulloch's 1895 hydro plant, the first major hydroelectric project on the Stanislaus River was the 1916 Spring Gap Powerhouse near Strawberry, constructed by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and still in operation today. Water diverted from the South Fork plunges more than down a mountainside to a seven megawatt power station on the Middle Fork. In 1939 PG&E completed the much larger Stanislaus Powerhouse near the confluence of the Middle and North Forks. Water was diverted from the Middle Fork at Sand Bar Dam, and a long tunnel was drilled through the mountains to carry it to the powerhouse. Because the water is diverted so far upstream, it affords a head of over to the Stanislaus Powerhouse; the much heavier flow of the Middle Fork means that more power can be generated – about 91 megawatts at full capacity.