Southwestern Power Administration
Encyclopedia
The Southwestern Power Administration (Southwestern) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Energy. Southwestern's mission was established by Section 5 of the Flood Control Act
of 1944. The agency is a power marketing administration
responsible for marketing the hydroelectric power produced at 24 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers multipurpose dam
s. By law, the power and associated energy are marketed to publicly held entities such as rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities. Southwestern has over one hundred such "preference" customers which ultimately serve over 7 million end use customers.
Southwestern operates and maintains 1,380 miles of high-voltage
transmission line
s, 24 substations, and 46 microwave
and VHF radio sites from field offices. Around-the-clock power scheduling and dispatching is conducted from the Operations Center.
Southwestern's rates, by law, are designed to recover the costs of producing the power. These costs include repayment of the dams' initial construction, with interest; repayment of the transmission system construction, with interest; major replacements; and both the Corps of Engineers' and Southwestern's annual operating and maintenance expenses. Annual revenues vary with water conditions, but generally average about USD$100 million. Southwestern returns the revenues to the U.S. Treasury, and of that, about USD$40 million is applied toward interest and repayment of the Federal investment.
Flood Control Act
There are multiple laws known as the Flood Control Act. Typically, they are administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers:-List of Flood Control Acts:*Flood Control Act of 1917...
of 1944. The agency is a power marketing administration
Power Marketing Administration
A Power Marketing Administration is a United States federal agency within the Department of Energy with the responsibility for marketing hydropower, primarily from multiple-purpose water projects operated by the Bureau of Reclamation, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the International Boundary and...
responsible for marketing the hydroelectric power produced at 24 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers multipurpose dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
s. By law, the power and associated energy are marketed to publicly held entities such as rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities. Southwestern has over one hundred such "preference" customers which ultimately serve over 7 million end use customers.
Southwestern operates and maintains 1,380 miles of high-voltage
Voltage
Voltage, otherwise known as electrical potential difference or electric tension is the difference in electric potential between two points — or the difference in electric potential energy per unit charge between two points...
transmission line
Transmission line
In communications and electronic engineering, a transmission line is a specialized cable designed to carry alternating current of radio frequency, that is, currents with a frequency high enough that its wave nature must be taken into account...
s, 24 substations, and 46 microwave
Microwave
Microwaves, a subset of radio waves, have wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF , and various sources use different boundaries...
and VHF radio sites from field offices. Around-the-clock power scheduling and dispatching is conducted from the Operations Center.
Southwestern's rates, by law, are designed to recover the costs of producing the power. These costs include repayment of the dams' initial construction, with interest; repayment of the transmission system construction, with interest; major replacements; and both the Corps of Engineers' and Southwestern's annual operating and maintenance expenses. Annual revenues vary with water conditions, but generally average about USD$100 million. Southwestern returns the revenues to the U.S. Treasury, and of that, about USD$40 million is applied toward interest and repayment of the Federal investment.