About the Agency
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.