市内への電力供給が始まって以降、電力需要は年々増加し、供給が追いつかない状況でしたが、明治45年に第二琵琶湖疏水が完成すると、発電用に十分な推量確保が可能になりました。そこで市は第一期蹴上発電所を廃止して第二期蹴上発電所を同年7月に運用開始。さらに大正3（1914）年4月にこの夷川発電所、5月に伏見発電所を新設し、電力供給量を大きく増やすことができました。運用開始時は英国製水車と米国製発電機を使用していました（今はどちらも国産）。

Ebisu-Gawa Power Plant

Since Kyoto City got connected to electricity, the power demand had been so greatly increased year after year that the supply could not catch up with it. In 1912 (Meiji 45), however, the second Lake Biwa canal was completed to enable the power plant to ensure water enough for generation, and so the municipal authorities started to operate Keage second power plant in July, stopping Keage first power plant. Subsequently, they established this Ebisu-gawa power plant in April 1914 (Taisho 3) and Fushimi power plant in May, which increased the power supply dramatically. There, at that time, were British water turbines and American generators used (but now they both has been replaced by domestic ones).