South Western Power Administration Revenue and Competitors

Southwestern Power Administration was established in 1943 by the Secretary of the Interior as a Federal Agency that today operates within the Department of Energy under the authority of Section 5 of the Flood Control Act of 1944. As one of four Power Marketing Administrations in the United States, Southwestern markets hydroelectric power in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas from 24 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers multipurpose dams. By law, Southwestern’s power is marketed and delivered primarily to public bodies such as rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities. Southwestern has over one hundred such "preference" customers, and these entities ultimately serve over eight million end-use customers. Southwestern operates and maintains 1,380 miles of high-voltage transmission lines, substations, and a communications system that includes microwave, VHF radio, and state-of-the-art fiber optics. Staff members work from offices located in Gore, Oklahoma; Jonesboro, Arkansas; Springfield, Missouri; and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Around-the-clock power scheduling and dispatching are conducted from the Springfield Operations Center.