Looking back on GRDAs 2022: Part 1

Lights, camera, action
Lights, camera, action Jeff Worley, a member of GRDAs Hydro Department, is interviewed by a film crew from Locust Grove High School in February 2022. The students were participating in the Whats So Cool About Manufacturing? workforce development program.

Looking back on GRDA’s 2022: Part 1

As the Grand River Dam Authority moves into 2023, we wanted to take a quick look back at the year 2022 and some of the activities and issues that helped define the last 12 months for the Team GRDA. In this first part, we look back at January through March …

January: As the new year was getting underway, GRDA continued its tradition of meeting with its customers to seek input on important issues and plans. Several wholesale customer representatives attended a meeting in late January, where advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) was the topic of conversation. Those customers were able to provide GRDA with important feedback on AMI planning for the future. Also in January, GRDA powerline maintenance crews completed the first of several 2022 non-emergency mutual aid projects when the Cushing-based crew helped that community’s electric department replace an overhead guy pole. Later in the month, crews also replaced three 75-foot wooden poles on a powerline near the Dry Gulch Substation, which had failed during subfreezing temperatures a day earlier.

February: The second month of 2022 was a busy one across the Authority as Old Man Winter loomed. Early in the month, after a possible ice storm was forecast for the area, crews initiated the storm response plan to ensure that all necessary personnel were prepared to meet the challenges of extreme winter weather. However, that storm came through without causing any damage to the system. But the weather was not the only thing going on in February. A film crew from Locust Grove High School, participating in the “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” video program (sponsored by the MidAmerica Industrial Park and RSUTV), visited GRDA to interview several employees about their careers and the path that led them to work in the electric utility industry. This was the first of many opportunities for Team GRDA to support workforce development during the year.

March: Early in the month, GRDA learned it would be a recipient of the Illinois River Watershed Partnership (IRWP) 2021 “Golden Paddle” award for conversation efforts along the river during the previous year. Also in March, GRDA officials were on hand when Northern Data, announced that it was planning to invest $270 million to build its North American headquarters in the MidAmerica Industrial Park, where it would be powered by GRDA electricity. In the middle of March, the “Big Meat Run” off-road event made its return to the spillway areas below Pensacola Dam. The GRDA Police Department was there in full force again, to help support the event and promote a safe outing for the thousands of participants and spectators on hand.

Next week, we will look back at the second quarter of GRDA’s 2022.

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.