Power for Progress…A weekly column from the Grand River Dam Authority Wrapping up the rodeo

The Oklahoma men and women who maintain the power lines for our state’s publicly owned electric utilities came together at the Mayes County Fairgrounds in Pryor October 1 and 2 for two days of competition and comradery. Most importantly though, they came together for the sake of safety education.

Hosted by the Pryor Municipal Utility Board (MUB) and the Grand River Dam Authority, the event was the 2025 Municipal Electric Systems of Oklahoma (MESO) Lineworkers Rodeo & Training. 

This rodeo is an annual event that allows electric lineworkers to put their skills to the test in a friendly competition setting. It promotes safety, education and team building across utilities for those critical times when mutual aid projects are necessary, following natural disasters and other widespread outage events.

Competitors climb poles, splice damaged lines, change fuses, conduct simulated “hurt man” rescue operations and work together in other ways. That “working together” is the key. Of course, all of the public power utilities represented at the “rodeo” are owned by the customers they serve, allowing for local control, not-for-profit rates and local resources that match local needs in communities across the state.

GRDA was not only proud to co-host this important event but also proud to be a part of the greater Oklahoma public power team and the work it is doing every day to keep the lights on across the state.

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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