The original powerhouse of the dam had a single six-bladed Kaplan turbine designed by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company and a General Electric generator rated at 45.2 MW. The original turbine was placed in service in 1973. After years of heavy vibration and a poorly matched turbine design, one of the blades catastrophically failed in February 2009, causing an immediate shutdown of the plant. The sheared off blade, weighing , was later recovered from the river. The turbine runner was repaired in 2010 by welding the old blade back in place. Other cracks were also discovered and repaired at this time.