National Hydropower Day

Aug 31, 2026

Recognizing the benefits of hydroelectricity…

The Grand River Dam Authority recently joined the National Hydropower Association (NHA) in recognizing August 24 as National Hydropower Day. Each year, the NHA sets aside this special day to recognize the many benefits of hydroelectricity. Like the NHA, GRDA certainly understands those benefits.

Of course, GRDA has been in the hydroelectricity business from its earliest days. After all, Pensacola Dam – Oklahoma’s first hydroelectric facility — was built to harness the waters of the Grand River and has produced a lot of megawatts of electricity for the state in the last 86 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 an important role in meeting the electrical demands of customers all across the region.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) hydroelectric facilities, like GRDA’s “fit the concept of renewable energy” because these facilities use “running water, without reducing its quantity, to produce electricity.”  At GRDA, that water is used repeatedly as it flows down the Grand River, through Pensacola Dam and Kerr Dam, and also as it is pumped up and stored at the SPSP.

Here are a few other benefits of hydroelectric, shared from energy.gov:

• Hydroelectric power is a domestic source of energy, allowing each state to produce their own energy without being reliant on international fuel sources.
• The energy generated through hydropower relies on the water cycle, which is driven by the sun, making it a renewable power source.
• Some hydropower facilities can quickly go from zero power to maximum output. Because hydropower plants can generate power to the grid immediately, they provide essential back-up power during major electricity outages or disruptions.
• Finally, hydroelectricity facilities also contribute to the storage of drinking water. Millions of Americans depend on the waters stored within hydro reservoirs.

There are many other benefits, but these are a few reasons why hydroelectricity remains an important part of the nations, and GRDA’s, electric 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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