Steep gradients on the Natal section of South African Railways, particularly in the Natal Midlands meant that electrification could well be beneficial, particularly if regenerative braking was employed. Building work started in 1921 and the power station was opened in 1926 with a capacity of 60 MW. Initially it only provided power for the section of the Glencoe – Pietermaritzburg part of the Durban-Johannesburg railway – the area that not only had the greatest gradients, but also the area that was closest to the coalfields of the Glencoe region.