FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 30, 2020
LAKEWOOD, Colo. – Western Area Power Administration has published its 2020 Annual Report, Engaging in a World of Change. It is
available now.
The report’s theme – which was introduced months before the appearance of COVID-19 – ended up being fitting in more ways than were anticipated.
“When I first unveiled this year’s theme, Engaging in a World of Change, at our December annual customer meeting, no one could have anticipated how prophetic it would become,” said Administrator and CEO Mark A. Gabriel in his opening letter. “In every way, personally and professionally, we have had to adjust, adapt and overcome the new distance in our lives brought about by COVID-19 and learn to engage in new and innovative ways.”
The document highlights the ways in which the organization has modeled stability and progress in the face of overwhelming uncertainty and confusion brought about by the pandemic. In March, WAPA transitioned to a maximum telework stance for nearly 1,900 employees and contractors in a matter of days. That stance continued through the rest of the fiscal year, and it required substantial changes to work practices and processes at all levels of the organization.
This organizational agility, even during the most challenging times, allowed WAPA to continue to provide clean, renewable, reliable, cost-based federal hydroelectric power and related services to more than 40 million Americans, without interruption.
Among the many other accomplishments spotlighted in this year’s annual report, readers will learn about how WAPA:
• Returned $272.3 million to the Department of the Treasury, totaling nearly $2.6 billion in the past eight years.
• Executed 98% of Operations and Maintenance work and 96% of capital projects.
• Kept costs at just .012 cents per kilowatt-hour generated.
• Transitioned to new reliability coordinators.
• Selected a common vendor for its supervisory control and data acquisition system.
• Submitted its American Broadband Initiative fiber assessment and initiated a pilot program with select customers.
• Assisted California in its energy crisis.
• Introduced a workload planning initiative, the culmination of several process improvement efforts.
• Saved and avoided more than $113 million in costs through Continuous Process Improvement.
• Was named one of the best places to work in the federal government.
“Our journey this year may have been sometimes shrouded in ambiguity, but our goal to keep the lights on for more than 40 million Americans provided a clear and guiding light,” said Gabriel. “Through the support of our customers, we will continue to navigate these changes and emerge a stronger and more resilient organization.”
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About WAPA: Western Area Power Administration annually markets and transmits more than 25,000 gigawatt-hours of clean, renewable power from 57 federal hydroelectric powerplants owned and operated by the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and International Boundary and Water Commission in 15 western and central states. It is part of the Department of Energy. Follow us on Twitter
@WesternAreaPowr or visit the website at
www.wapa.gov.
