On April 18, 1960, it was decided to build the Elektrėnai power plant. In the future, it was planned to build the Ignalina nuclear power plant, so the idea arose to build a pumped storage power plant, which would regulate the operation of the energy system by smoothing out load imbalances, i.e., improve the quality of electricity supply, and in the event of an accident in the system, compensate for the energy deficit with its activities.
In 1962, after examining six possible construction sites for such a power plant, the Kruonis (1,600 MW) and Sudervė (2,000 MW) power plants with potential generated power appeared to be the most promising. The essential economic advantage of the Kruonis HPP is that 63.5 km² of Kaunas Lagoon can be used for the lower pond. The Sudervė HPP would have required the construction of an expensive lower basin and damming of the Neris River.