In the village of Pierzchały, at the Pasłęka river, there is a water power plant which was constructed in the years 1913 - 1916 by Carl Heinz, who was son-in-law of famous Elbląg manufacturer Ferdynand Schichau. Many years ago this village was called Petlikowo. The aim of constructing the power plant in this place was to supply the Schichau’s shipyard in Elbląg with electric energy as well as to create a research laboratory connected with water turbines there.

Water Power Plant Pierzchały - view at turbines

An earth-concrete dam was built to dam up water, and a storage reservoir of the area of 240 ha and capacity of 11.45 million m3 , called the Lake of Pierzchały, was created there.

Water is supplied to the power plant with the use of derivative canal with the length of 1270 metres and operates three hydrosets with horizontal, twin Francis turbines. Discharge of water for each of sets amounts to 11 m3/s. The hydrosets achieve active power of 0,88 MW at nominal head of 14 m. This kind of water supply causes that the power plant is of flow-storage nature with possibility of peak discharge and being used as compensation reservoir.

Electric energy is led out through the transformer 10/15 kV which is situated in PZ Pierzchały.

During the war operations the water power plant was not destroyed and in autumn 1945 it supplied the city of Elbląg and reconstructed power plant in Elbląg with electric energy.

Water Power Plant Pierzchały - view from the canal.

First aquatic legal permission to dam up and use water of Pasłęka river for the purpose of electric energy generation was given on 17th December 1947 by the Olsztyn Province Office in order to unite the Masurian Power District in Olsztyn.

Further legal successors were:
- Power Plant in Gdańsk
- Elbląg Power Plant
in the structures, in which the Heat and Power Plant in Elbląg existed, leading the whole of operations connected with the activity of water power plants.

As a result of organizational changes, on 3rd February 1997 the Heat and Power Plant Elbląg LLC came into being and became the successor of the rights and duties arising from the fact of running business activity related to water power plants.

On 31st July 1998, the Elbląg Power Plant JSC became the manager of water power plants, and on 1st July 2007 the rights to the water power plants were transferred again to the Heat and Power Plant Elbląg LLC.