Grand River Dam Authority News Release
For immediate release: 4/13/11
GRDA
Board approves double-digit rate reduction plan
Vinita— The Grand River Dam Authority Board
of Directors has approved a long-range plan that will reduce base electric rates
to GRDA electric customers by 2 percent later this year, then return rates to
December 2009 levels (a reduction of approximately 10 percent) in July 2013.
The board approved the plan at its April 13 meeting in Vinita, where it also
discussed another possible 10 percent decrease effective July 2014.
The action reinforced
projections developed in November 2010, at the time of GRDA’s most recent bond
issue for capital improvements, and were adopted by the GRDA Board as a
guideline for GRDA staff and customers.
According to GRDA Chief
Executive Officer Kevin Easley, economic conditions and aggressive, modern
management cost-saving measures have led to improved net revenues for the
utility. Meanwhile, more sales to industrial customers were expected to add to
revenues while new agreements for sales to cities and rural electric
cooperatives in Western Oklahoma also contributed to rate reduction plans.
“Although GRDA will see
some increases in fuel costs and costs of rail delivery of coal during the next
several years, we do not see our costs increasing at a rate any greater than
other utilities,” said Easley. “So we expect our competitive position as a
leading low-cost provider of electric services to be reinforced by these rate
reductions.”
While there has been
considerable media coverage related to rate increases for other Oklahoma
utilities making capital improvements to meet air quality guidelines, Easley
added that GRDA has already planned for such improvements.
“GRDA’s financial forecast
shows we will meet all environmental requirements without having to resort to
rate increases,” said Easley. “In fact, our financial forecast has provisions
for significant investment in low nitrogen oxide burners at our coal-fired
facility and other investments in the next eight years.”
However, if current bills
do become law, they would strip GRDA’s ability to charge for raw water.
Currently, GRDA is responsible for oversight of water resources in the Grand
River drainage.
Revenues from raw water
sales return just a small portion of GRDA’s overall cost of lake management in
the Grand River. And while those water sales equate to less than a million
dollars annually, GRDA points out the greater significance may be that
unrestricted amounts of water could be to be taken from the reservoirs. That
could potentially impact lake levels, GRDA’s ability to generate
hydroelectricity, as well as the water supply for the GRDA Coal Fired
Complex.
While water district
residents have objected to paying for any of GRDA’s water-related costs, Easley
stated GRDA would follow the direction of the Oklahoma Legislature and losses
of water revenues would have to be absorbed by Oklahoma electric rate
payers.
Headquartered in Vinita,
GRDA is funded by the revenues from the sale of electricity and water. GRDA
built and operates the Pensacola Dam (Grand Lake), Robert S. Kerr Dam (Lake
Hudson) and the Salina Pumped Storage Project (Saline Creek arm of Lake Hudson)
on the Grand River. These facilities, along with the GRDA Coal-Fired Complex
and the Red Bud Gas Plant combine for a total generation capability of 1,480
megawatts. GRDA transmits and delivers this wholesale electricity across
Oklahoma municipal, electric cooperative and industrial customers.
Contact: Justin Alberty, Corporate Communications Director
Grand River Dam Authority, (918) 256 5545