Porogi (Thresholds) is the oldest and longest serving hydroelectric plant in Soviet Union and Russia, celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2009. There is an eponymous village nearby with a population of twenty people, which nowadays, due to a station, is self-sufficient from external sources of electricity. The village is located on the shore of an artificial reservoir; this is an equipment power station which was built by the Germans and has been working almost continuously since 1909. Nearby, an abandoned mini-plant for the smelting of ferroalloys, lies. The hydroelectric plant was originally built for the needs of the mini-plant, and since 1993 the complex has received the status of a monument of international significance by UNESCO.
