Power for Progress …A weekly column from the Grand River Dam AuthorityHydro is here
Hydro is here … GRDA’s Pensacola Dam has been producing hydroelectricity in Oklahoma for over 85 years.
Each year, the National Hydropower Association (NHA) sets aside a day in August to recognize it as National Hydropower Day (August 24, 2025). The Grand River Dam Authority is proud to join the NHA and other hydropower producers across the country in recognizing and sharing the many benefits of hydroelectricity.
Of course, GRDA has been in the hydroelectricity business from its very beginning. Pensacola Dam – Oklahoma’s first hydroelectric facility — was built to put the waters of the Grand River to work for Oklahoma. In fact, GRDA has been in the business of producing hydro power for over 85 years.
However, Pensacola is just one part of GRDA’s hydroelectric history. GRDA also built Robert S. Kerr Dam in the early 1960s, and the Salina Pumped Storage Project (SPSP) in the late 1960s/early 1970s. All together, these resources play a role in meeting the electrical demands of customers across the state and into the four-state region.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), hydroelectric facilities, like Pensacola and Kerr dams, “fit the concept of renewable energy” because these facilities use “running water, without reducing its quantity, to produce electricity.”
The theme for National Hydropower Day 2025 is “hydro is here” but it is more than a theme. It is a call to recognize how deeply embedded hydropower is, in both our electric history and regional development. Beyond the electric lines, hydro also supports local jobs and economic development, creates countless recreational opportunities across Grand and Hudson lakes, and supports responsible water resource management and more.
Here are a few other hydroelectric benefits, shared from United States Department of Energy (energy.gov):
Hydroelectric power is a domestic source of energy, allowing each state to produce its own energy without being reliant on international fuel sources.
Hydropower is an established industry in the United States, employing 66,500 people.
Hydropower creates jobs in rural locations and boosts local economies.
As a flexible power source, hydropower can quickly go from zero to maximum output. This ability to add power to the grid immediately makes it essential backup power during major electricity outages or disruptions.
Technologies like pumped storage hydropower can store energy. GRDA’s Salina Pumped Storage Project has played a key role in the electric generation portfolio for over half a century.
Many hydropower installations in the United States can provide public access to the reservoir so the public can participate in recreational activities such as fishing, boating, and swimming. GRDA manages over 70,000 surface acres of lake waters attached to its hydro projects.
There are many other benefits, but these are a few reasons why hydroelectricity remains an important part of GRDA’s generation portfolio.
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.
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