was at its southern end, into the Tekapo River. In 1938 construction commenced on a power station, originally due to be finished in 1943 but halted in 1942 by the world war. At the same time, control gates were constructed to regulate outflows to the Waitaki Dam downstream. Work restarted in 1944, and the power station, now known as Tekapo A, came online in 1951. Water from the lake is diverted through a tunnel under the town to the power station, with the water originally being returned to the river. With development of the Upper Waitaki hydroelectric scheme in the 1970s, water is now fed into a canal which leads to Tekapo B on the shores of Lake Pukaki. Following a turbine failure in 1986, a new Kaplan turbine was installed, with a more efficient design and higher output (42 000 HP) than the original. Today, the power station produces an average of 160 GWh annually, from a 25.2 MW capacity generator. The net head of the station is 30.5 m. In 2008 Tekapo A and Tekapo B hydro stations were refurbished following the upgrade of Benmore and Waitaki. On 1 June 2011, Tekapo A and B hydro power stations were transferred from Meridian Energy to Genesis Energy on instruction from the Government. In February 2021, Genesis Energy finished an upgrade that strengthened the Tekapo A power station to withstand earthquakes. It involved five years of planning, two years of construction and cost $26.5 million. It was a challenging build to upgrade the infrastructure and tunnels which were built in the 1940s. The Tekapo A power station provides power to almost 100,000 homes. Skifield On the north side of the lake, 24 km from the Tekapo township is the Roundhill Ski Area situated in the Two Thumb Range, which caters primarily to beginner and intermediate skiers. For advanced skiers, Roundhill Ski area also has the world's longest and steepest rope tow which runs to the top of the Richmond Range (2133m). Buildings and other structures Church of the Good Shepherd Situated on the shores of Lake Tekapo is the Church of the Good Shepherd, which, in 1935, was the first church built in the Mackenzie Basin. The church at Lake Tekapo was designed by Christchurch architect R.S.D. Harman, based on sketches by a local artist, Esther Hope. The church is one of the most photographed in New Zealand, and features