Power for Progress: Looking back on GRDA’s 2023: Part 4
Powering the future
GRDA President/Chief Executive Officer Dan Sullivan addresses employees and other guests during a special ceremony to commemorate the contract signing for GRDA’s new Unit 4 in October 2023. Construction of the new 420-megawatt gas generating unit began in January 2024.
Power for Progress …
A weekly column from the Grand River Dam Authority
Looking back on GRDA’s 2023: Part 4
As the fourth quarter of 2023 began, the Grand River Dam Authority had already experienced a busy year with events like the opening of the WOKA Whitewater Park, storm recovery and many internal projects to help maintain the reliable flow of electricity to customer. However, the year’s final three months also brought plenty of activity. Here is a quick review of GRDA’s October, November, and December.
In October, GRDA followed up on a decision it made in August when it formally signed an agreement with Mitsubishi Power Americas for a second advanced class gas turbine to the Grand River Energy Center (GREC). The new unit will be the first M501JAC gas turbine to operate in simple cycle in the United States, providing operational flexibility and fast start-up times to meet the needs of GRDA’s evolving electricity grid. Construction of the new unit, Unit 4, begins in January 2024.
November was a month of recognition for GRDA as it received an Outstanding Stewards of America’s Waters award from the National Hydropower Association for its “Beyond the Dam” effort, part of the greater GRDA Guard the Grand Program. Also, during the month, GRDA was recognized as the 2023 winner of the Frank Condon Environmental Excellence Award, for its Microbial Source Tracking Program, conducted by the GRDA Ecosystems and Watershed Management Department. The Frank Condon award is given annually by the Environmental Federation of Oklahoma.
With December’s arrival, much of the activity of 2023 began to slow. However, the day-to-day business of delivering reliable, abundant electricity to customers across Oklahoma and the four-state region continued. In mid-December, GRDA hosted an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) seminar at its Administrative Center, to discuss emergency planning and preparation with many of the law enforcement and emergency response agencies in the area. The EAP effort is an annual event. Another annual event is GRDA’s participation in holiday parades. In December, GRDA was proud to take part in over 30 Christmas parades across the hometowns in its service area.
Now, with its attention focused squarely on the year ahead, Team GRDA looks forward meeting its mission in 2024.