The reservoir is located at the base of the valley and was formed by the construction of an 88-metre (289 ft) tall gravity dam.

The saddle dam is also equipped with a spillway that has a discharge capacity of 240 cubic metres per second (8,500 cu ft/s).

The catchment area for Chiotas is 11.6 square kilometres (4.5 sq mi) and the reservoir reaches a maximum depth of 118 metres (387 ft).

The power station is located underground and consists of transformer, valve gallery and generator hall caverns.

After the water is used for power generation, it is discharged into a 500-metre (1,600 ft) long tail-race tunnel and into Lago Della Piastra.

Both the tail-race and power plant intake are protected from water hammer by surge tanks.