The plant was built as part of the massive post-war industrialisation plan The great construction sites of communism, which was to form a Volga-Kama Cascade of hydroelectric dams.

Although the initial design had to be altered for practical reasons, the delay was long enough to allow the Kuybyshev GES to come online and provide direct power to the new building site.

By autumn 1967 the dam was completed and the river was blocked and in December of that year the first four powerhouses became operational.

Most of the city of Saratov is powered by the station; the rest of the energy is absorbed into the Russian national grid.

The two 500 kV powerlines from Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant traverse the Saratov Hydroelectric Station, crossing the Volga River in a 1.6 kilometres long span.