Preparations for a power station at Heyrod began in 1916 when 26 acres (110,000 m2) of land were purchased.

The station was opened in 1926 by the Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley and Dukinfield Transport and Electricity Board.

[1] The station began operation with three Metropolitan-Vickers 12,500 kW turbo-alternators generating at the local SHMD supply frequency of 40 Hz.

Coal was fed into a hopper underneath the sidings before being transported on an enclosed conveyor belt which emerged high above the valley to cross the River Tame and canal before entering the station at a high level.

[3] The electricity output from Hartshead LP and HP power stations in the mid-1950s was:[4][5][6][7] It was partly converted to oil firing in the 1960s.