SUMMER, 1896: Henry Holderman, the first man to envision a dam across the Grand River Valley, floats down the river with his brother, Bert, and two classmates from the Spaulding Institute in Muskogee, OK. The trip is to survey the possible locations for the dam. Although he would try time and again to get funding to build the dam, Holderman would die before construction began.

APRIL 1935: The Grand River Dam Authority is created when the 15th Oklahoma legislature passes State Senate Bill 395 (the Grand River Dam Authority Enabling Act). Not only does this authorize construction of the Pensacola Dam, but it also creates a state agency that will someday help to bring thousands of jobs to Northeastern Oklahoma.

SEPTEMBER 1937: With authorization for construction of the "Pensacola Project" a group of Vinita and Grove businessmen make several trips to Washington, D.C., to lobby for funding for the project. They finally get official approval from the Works Progress Administration and President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

DECEMBER 1938: Because of the hard times of the Great Depression, thousands of workers flock to the Pensacola Project site, making the small towns of Langley and Disney instant boom towns. Massman Construction of Kansas City (chief contractor on the dam project) begins pouring the first of 510,000 cubic yards of concrete. Driven by depression-era labor and surprisingly mild weather, the 24-hour-a-day continuous pour of concrete is completed 20 months later.

MARCH 1940: Although Oklahoma Governor Leon C. Phillips opposed closure of the dam because of controversy over state highways inundated by the new lake, the last stop log was dropped into place late in the month, sealing the dam.

AUGUST 1940: Controversy aside, Governor Phillips opens the road across the dam on the 13th of the month. By the end of the summer, thanks to heavy rains, the reservoir is full, and the Grand Lake O' the Cherokees is a reality.

NOVEMBER 1941: With the threat of World War II looming on the horizon, the federal government, via the Federal Power Act, takes control of Pensacola Dam. All the country's resources, including electricity, will soon be directed toward the war effort.

JANUARY 1945: With World War II coming to an end, GRDA officials begin the long and grueling process to regain control of the dam from the government. By July of 1946, after a year and a half of struggles, the U.S. Congress passes a bill authorizing the return of the dam to GRDA and the people of the state of Oklahoma. President Harry S. Truman's signature makes it official. (During government control of the dam, many of the minor contracts on the project are completed.)

AUGUST 1946: GRDA officially takes control of the dam. The towns of Disney and Langley hold huge celebrations.

JANUARY 1962: After much controversy, GRDA wins the authorization tug-of-war with the United States Army Corps of Engineers and is allowed to begin construction of the Markham Ferry Project (Robert S. Kerr Dam).

MAY 1964: GRDA completes the Markham Ferry Project on Lake Hudson. Not only does this add to hydroelectricity production of Pensacola Dam, but it also furthers flood control for Grand River. With the completion of these two dams, only one site, near Fort Gibson, OK, remains as a viable location for the Grand River's third and final dam. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gets authorization to build this final facility,

AUGUST 1966: Still needing generating capability, but unable to further develop Grand River resources, GRDA turns to the idea of a pumped-storage project, to be built on the Saline Creek arm of Lake Hudson. Using a reservoir high in the hills east of Salina, OK, this 'experimental' power plant, which critics said would "break the Authority," is becoming a reality.

MAY 1968: After months of blasting, dredging, dirt work and construction work, stage one of the Salina Pumped Storage Project is completed. While GRDA officials learn the ins and outs of pumped-storage operation, stage two construction begins. By 1971, it is completed, and the entire project adds 260 megawatts of production capability to the GRDA system.

APRIL 1977: Although it has three facilities for hydroelectricity production, GRDA must still rely on purchased power to meet its customers' growing needs. That, coupled with a projected energy shortage for the early 1980s, turns GRDA's attention toward thermal generation. The Oklahoma State Legislature aids in the process by approving a debt ceiling that will allow GRDA to sell bonds to begin construction of a coal-fired, thermal-generation facility.

SEPTEMBER 1977: "GRDA is officially in the business of generating electricity from coal," was the message as the 11th amendment to the Markham Ferry Coordinating Agreement of 1957 was passed. Until then, GRDA had only been authorized to produce hydroelectric power.

JANUARY 1, 1981: GRDA begins operating in its own load control area for the first time.

JUNE 1978: A 1,245-acre site on the southern edge of the MidAmerica Industrial Park is suddenly bustling with activity as construction begins on GRDA 1, the first stage of GRDA’s thermal-generation facility.

JUNE 1981: GRDA 1's turbine generator spins for the first time, producing electricity.

DECEMBER 1981: Oklahoma Governor George Nigh officially dedicates the state-owned thermal generation facility known as the GRDA Coal-Fired Complex.

JANUARY 1982: Following the dedication and some fine tuning, GRDA 1 begins commercial operations.

MAY 1982: Construction on the second phase (GRDA 2) of the Coal-Fired Complex begins. (At times during construction, as many as 1,400 workers were on site.)

OCTOBER 6, 1985: GRDA 2 produces its first megawatts. On the 25th, it is officially dedicated. Like GRDA 1, GRDA 2 was completed on time and under budget.

JANUARY 1986: After some fine tuning, GRDA 2 begins commercial operations. Combined with GRDA 1, it increases total electric production capability by 1,010 megawatts.

SEPTEMBER 1997: GRDA begins the largest upgrade project in its history when Unit 3 at Pensacola Dam is disassembled for major rehabilitation. Over the next six years, the remaining units will undergo the same procedure. When completed in April 2003, the combined generation capacity of Pensacola Dam is increased by approximately 20 percent, while Oklahoma's oldest hydroelectric units are operating with many new turbine and generator components.

January 1998: GRDA opens its newest facility along the information superhighway when www.grda.com goes online on the World Wide Web.

September 1998: On the way to a complete rehabilitation of the state’s oldest hydroelectric generators, the first phase of the Pensacola Dam upgrade is completed. After being the “guinea pig” for the major rehabilitation project, Unit 3 is returned to service.

Early 1999: All across the nation, business and industry spends much of the year preparing for the arrival of Y2K. GRDA is no different. The Authority establishes a Y2K Task Force to plan for the coming year and completes testing of all its critical control systems to insure they will function properly when the calendar hits 2000.

December 1999: The GRDA Coal Fired Complex -- ranked among the most efficient electric generating plants in the country by several studies throughout its history – receives top notch recognition. Following a comprehensive study of 403 coal fired plants in the United States, Resource Data International, Inc. (RDI) picks the GRDA facility as one only 28 “five star” generators. The study included a comparative analysis of each facility’s performance and gave five stars to the ones best suited for electric deregulation, based on competitive ability.

January 1, 2000: GRDA control systems pass through the Y2K rollover with no problems reported across the entire energy delivery network.

Spring 2003: Six years after it began, the $30 million comprehensive upgrade project at Pensacola Dam is completed. The six hydroelectric turbine generators in the powerhouse --- Oklahoma’s oldest --- now have new components. Despite being the state’s oldest hydro units, they are now among the most efficient as well.

October 2003: In its 63^rd year, GRDA’s Pensacola Dam is added to the United States National Parks Service’s National Register of Historic Places.

May 2004: Shortly after being named new GRDA Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Easley establishes the GRDA Office of Ecosystems Management. The goal? Bring a greater focus to lake management issues and insure GRDA always meets its responsibilities as a good steward of the natural resources under its control.

March 2005: Fitch Ratings (one of the three bond rating agencies) issues a report reaffirming GRDA's "A-" (investment grade) bond rating, while also upgrading the outlook from stable to positive. It marks the first improvement in GRDA's outlook ever by Fitch and recognizes the initiatives undertaken by GRDA management to strengthen GRDA’s credit profile.

June 2005: The GRDA Board of Directors votes to move forward with a comprehensive shoreline management plan (SMP) for Grand Lake. Requested by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the plan will essentially be the blueprint for future development along the lake shore.

March 2006: Citing GRDA customers’ acceptance of rate increases that will improve finances and the utility’s low-cost power supply among the factors in its decision, Standard & Poor’s Rating Services (S&P) affirms GRDA’s “BBB+” credit rating and improves the rating outlook from negative to stable. The good news comes one year after a similar credit outlook improvement from Fitch.

September 2006: GRDA receives a new 30-year license to operate the Markham Ferry Project (Robert S. Kerr Dam and Lake Hudson) from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. To complete the relicensing efforts, bald eagle protection, threatened and endangered species management, water quality, identification and management of historic property and a recreation management plan were some of the subjects addressed by GRDA. The new license replaced the original license, issued in 1955.

January 2007: Marking the third credit outlook improvement in two years, Moody’s Investor Services affirms an "A2" rating on GRDA’s outstanding electric revenue bonds and announces it would change GRDA’s rating outlook from negative to stable. Moody’s lists GRDA’s history of successfully operating within a competitive environment among its strengths, as well as the Authority’s stable and strong liquidity position. The report also acknowledges that GRDA’s focus continues to be “on supplying the native load of its Oklahoma customers.”

January 2007: One of the most devastating ice storms in Northeast Oklahoma history moves through the GRDA service area. While damage is widespread, the hardest hit portion of the GRDA system is the Highway 412 substation, east of Locust Grove and a high voltage transmission line (Feeder 105) that runs to the substation from Robert S. Kerr Dam. A total of 127 structures fall along the line, under the weight of the ice and snow.

August 2007: GRDA takes another step in its efforts to be a leader in environmental compliance efforts when the GRDA Board approves an $800,000 project to install continuous mercury emissions monitoring equipment at the Coal-Fired Complex. GRDA also commits to an aggressive timetable – installation of the equipment by July 2008 --- well ahead of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandate of December 31, 2008.

September 2007: The final draft of the shoreline management plan (SMP) is complete and presented to the public at a series of public meetings around Grand Lake.

October 2007: Following on the heels of credit outlook improvements from the three major rating agencies, GRDA receives a credit rating upgrade   Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Rating Services. S&P announces it is changing GRDA’s credit rating from “BBB+” to “A”, and improving the outlook from stable to positive. It marks the first rating upgrade in GRDA’s history. “This upgrade is proof that the financial community believes GRDA is growing more financially stable,” said GRDA Chief Executive Officer Kevin Easley. “Moving the rating from “BBB+” to “A-” adds even more stability to the financial foundation this agency will rest on in the future.”

December 2007: The year goes out the same way it came in – with an ice storm. Once again, Northeast Oklahoma is hit hard and the GRDA system suffers damage in various locations. This time, a high voltage transmission line (Feeder 13) running between Collinsville and Prue sees the worst of it. GRDA crews work round the clock, in the ice and cold, for several days to restore the system to full service.

January 2008: GRDA goes public with an announcement that it is joining with two other Oklahoma-based utilities to purchase the natural gas fired 1,200 megawatt (MW) Redbud Plant near Luther. GRDA will be a 36 percent interest owner in the plant (which translates to approx. 400 MW) and will partner with Oklahoma Gas and Electric (51 percent interest) and the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority (13 percent). Plans were to finalize the deal sometime in 2008.

June 2008: After 27 public meetings, three years of work and input from hundreds of lake area stakeholders, the comprehensive shoreline management plan (SMP) for Grand Lake is approved by the GRDA Board of Directors. The plan is then sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in Washington, D.C. for final approval.