A year of growth for the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority (OMPA) was capped by an approval of a power sales contract with the City of Cordell at a regular Board of Directors meeting on Dec. 10 at OMPA offices in Edmond.
As such, Cordell becomes the 42nd member of OMPA and the third new one this year, after Mooreland joined in March and Fort Supply joined in May.
“We are always excited to have another member join the collective effort of towns and cities within OMPA, and we look forward to serving Cordell, striving toward our mission of providing reliable and low-cost energy,” OMPA General Manager David W. Osburn said. “We were also pleased to hear the recommendation of their independent consultant in selecting OMPA as a power supplier.”
Located in west Oklahoma, Cordell had a population of 2,915 at the 2010 census.
OMPA is a municipal joint action agency, owned by the members it serves. It is governed by a board of 11 representatives from member cities and towns, who are selected by a group of electors. Each of OMPA’s members has one elector, and Cordell’s will be the person serving as the chair of the Public Works Authority.
The Authority was created on June 2, 1981, and originally supplied power to 26 cities in 1985, which was its first year of operation. It has continued to grow, adding six members in the last five years alone. Membership includes towns with a population 148 to large suburbs with a population of 80,000-plus.
The Authority has a diverse pool of resources, including part or full ownership in generating plants in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana. Power resources include wind, hydro, coal, natural gas, fuel and methane gas. Approximately 250,000 Oklahomans are served electricity by OMPA.
