News
GRDA, WFEC extend longstanding beneficial partnership through PPA
Feb 13, 2023
Two Oklahoma electric utilities that have partnered to help provide abundant electricity to rural communities and cooperatives for decades are extending that partnership for years to come.
In January, Western Farmers Electric Cooperative (WFEC) and the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) announced that a power purchase agreement (PPA) between the entities, which first began 40 years ago, will be extended through 2050. Under the terms of that agreement, WFEC will continue to purchase 200 megawatts (MW) of electricity from GRDA to supplement its already diverse generation portfolio.
The WFEC-GRDA partnership began in 1983, shortly after GRDA entered the thermal generation market with the completion of the GRDA Unit and two coal-fired generators. Today, GRDA’s approximately 2,500 MW of generation capacity is spread across a diverse portfolio, including gas, coal, water, and wind resources.
“Both Western Farmers and GRDA were created at a time when there was a real need for rural electrification across Oklahoma, and both have made that a central part of their mission ever since,” said GRDA President/CEO Dan Sullivan. “GRDA is pleased to be able to extend both this partnership and the tradition of providing power to rural Oklahoma.”
The partnership extension also provides electric grid stability for both entities, allowing each to better plan for future needs across both systems as they continue to meet the evolving needs of their customer bases.
“GRDA and WFEC have worked towards improving the quality of life in rural Oklahoma for many years. WFEC places great value on our association with GRDA and looks forward to continuing our relationship well into the future,” said WFEC CEO Gary Roulet.
WFEC is a generation and transmission (G&T) cooperative that provides electric service to 21 member cooperatives and Altus Air Force Base. These members are located primarily in Oklahoma and New Mexico, with some service areas extending into parts of Texas and Kansas. WFEC, now in its 82nd year of operation, was organized in 1941 and continues today to deliver safe, reliable, and competitively priced wholesale energy across its large service territory while strengthening the organization, its member cooperatives, and its employees.
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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 five E’s: electricity, economic development, environmental stewardship, employees, and efficiency.