A run-of-the-river and now, conventional hydro-electric power station, called Brown Mountain Power Station, is located on the eastern escarpment of the Great Dividing Range inland from Bega and downstream from the dam wall, on the Bemboka River. The power station commenced generating electricity in 1943 and was originally owned and operated by the Bega Valley County Council (since merged). Brown Mountain Power Station was initially commissioned with five high pressure turbo generators, with a generating capacity of of electricity, generated from the run-of-the-river of Bemboka River. Later, the creation of the Cochrane Dam, regulated flows of water on the Rutherford Creek to the Brown Mountain Power Station and to meet the irrigation requirements of the Bega Valley catchment.