Celebrating National Public Power Week 2020

Each year, during the first full week in October, the Grand River Dam Authority joins with the nation’s 2,200 other publicly-owned electric utilities to celebrate National Public Power Week. It is a time to highlight the many benefits of public power while also celebrating its productive history and exciting future across the country.

Today, public power is found in 49 states (everywhere except Hawaii) and roughly 48 million Americans --including the citizens of GRDA’s 15 public power partner communities right here in Oklahoma – receive their power from a not-for-profit, publicly-owned utility system. 

Of course, public power systems come in many shapes and sizes. In fact, one of the greatest benefits of public power is that it is controlled by the customer-owners, thus, by design, it matches local resources to meet local needs. While many systems are large (Los Angeles, San Antonio and Orlando are all public power communities) other systems are much smaller, like the Oklahoma municipal systems served by GRDA.

In all these municipal systems, both large and small, the process works the same: communities own and operate their own electric distribution system and revenues from the sale of electricity help to fund other city services. Parks, streets, police and fire protection can all benefit financially from the locally-owned electric utility. In fact, every GRDA public power community in Oklahoma, no matter the size, contributes hundreds of thousands of dollars (some even more) to their respective city general funds.

GRDA is proud to be a part of the public power process and proud to share its many benefits that positively impact thousands of Oklahomans through reliable electricity, economic development, environmental stewardship, efficient operations and quality of life.

GRDA is Oklahoma’s largest public power utility; fully funded by revenues from electric and water sales instead of taxes. Each day, GRDA strives to be an “Oklahoma agency of excellence” by focusing on the 5 E’s: electricity, economic development, environmental stewardship, employees and efficiency.

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