Communicating with customers, GRDA Style
New generation, financial forecast, ongoing engineering projects and updates on other issues were on the agenda last week when Grand River Dam Authority management met with its customers during two days of meetings.
It has become a February tradition for GRDA to set aside two days during the month for these annual meetings that bring together representatives from the municipalities, electric cooperatives and industrial operations that purchase electricity from the Authority. Delivering low-cost, reliable power to these customers 24/7/365 is a primary task, but providing them with information, updates and a chance for open dialogue is also an important part of the Authority’s mission.
Another opportunity for open dialogue … GRDA’s wholesale customers, including electric cooperative and municipal representatives, gathered at the Ecosystems and Education Center in Langley on February 12, for the annual GRDA customer meeting. The Authority shared information on its new electric generation project, financial forecasts, ongoing transmission system construction projects and other issues.
Today, GRDA’s primary customer base includes 16 Oklahoma communities, Northeast Oklahoma Electric Cooperative and at least 80 industrial/commercial customers in the MidAmerica Industrial Park. There are also other customers who receive a portion of their wholesale electricity needs from the Authority. At no cost to Oklahoma taxpayers, the electricity GRDA produces to meet these customer needs continues to power progress, attract new business and industry, broaden the state’s tax base and create more jobs in Oklahoma. By 2017, the Oklahoma Department of Commerce estimates that GRDA’s contributions to the state’s economy are projected to reach $689 million.
Of course, that is only possible when long-term, beneficial customer relationships exist. Regular customer meetings, like the series held in mid-February, help to strengthen those relationships and help keep everyone on the same page, so that future challenges and opportunities can be discussed, questioned can be answered and plans for the future can be made.
Headquartered in Vinita, GRDA is Oklahoma’s state-owned electric utility; fully funded by revenues from electric and water sales instead of taxes. GRDA’s low-cost, reliable power touches 75 of 77 counties in the state and serves as an important economic development engine for Oklahoma. At no cost to Oklahoma taxpayers, GRDA also manages 70,000 surface acres of lakes in the state, including Grand Lake, Lake Hudson and the W.R. Holway Reservoir. Today, GRDA’s 500 employees continue to produce the same “power for progress” that has benefited the state for 75 years. The efforts of Team GRDA facilitate over $450 million in economic activity in Oklahoma annually.
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