A series of gate houses, a canal, forebay, and underground penstocks supply a hydropower plant located 3 miles away in Jay Cooke State Park.

With an installed capacity of 72 MW and an annual generation of approximately 280 GWh, the Thomson project is the largest hydroelectric facility in the state.

Today it is owned by Minnesota Power, a division of Allete, Inc.[8] Heavy rains in June 2012 created an historic flood in the region which overtopped the dam, breached the forebay canal and severely damaged the hydroelectric station.

[3][9] The most visible part of Thomson Dam is the primary structure straddling the Saint Louis River channel near Minnesota State Highway 210.

Today the United States Army Corps of Engineers National Inventory of Dams (NID) counts 18 structures as part of the complex, with 14 formally listed as separate.