Millions of megawatt-hours, one true purpose

Power path
A GRDA electric transmission line makes its way across the Oklahoma landscape. GRDA utilizes about 1,200 miles of lines to deliver power to Oklahomans and other customers across a four-state region.

Power for Progress…

A weekly column from the Grand River Dam Authority

Millions of megawatt-hours, one true purpose

The list of the nation’s largest public power electric utilities always includes the Grand River Dam Authority. GRDA is there because of diverse mixture of gas, coal, water and even wind generation sources that have been developed throughout the utility’s 80-plus years of service to Oklahoma. In a typical year, that GRDA mixture combines to produce approximately eight million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity; enough power for the Authority to be ranked as the 25th largest publicly owned utility (by generation) in the United States.

GRDA power reaches across Oklahoma and into a four-state area, helping to meet the electricity demands across a large geographical. What started out in one hydroelectric powerhouse on the Grand River in 1940, has now become a major supplier in the region.

Electricity is the only real-time commodity bought and sold on the market. That means even as GRDA works round-the-clock to produce the power, it must also constantly balance supply and demand. This balance is important not only for customer needs but also to help insure the reliable operation of the nation’s electric power grid. Because GRDA operates a sizable portion of that grid, it must comply with the regulations of oversight agencies such as the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and the Southwest Power Pool (SPP).

To accomplish this, there is a staff of NERC-certified employees who oversee the generation, transmission, and accounting of every single megawatt of power across the GRDA system. That power may come from different assets within GRDA’s diverse electric generation portfolio, but it always passes under the watchful eye of Team GRDA personnel who have planned for it, produced it, tracked it, and delivered it.

GRDA is Oklahoma’s largest public power electric 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.