Law boosts Oklahoma public power utility's bond capacity to $3.6 billion

Grand Driver Dam Authority

The bonding capacity for the Grand River Dam Authority in Oklahoma will more than double under a bill signed into law by Gov. Kevin Stitt on Wednesday.  

House Bill 1422 increases revenue bond authorization for the state's largest public power utility to $3.6 billion from $1.41 billion.

John Wiscaver, the authority's executive vice president, said the law's "proactive approach" will address future generation investments that are needed to provide low-cost, reliable electricity to municipal and commercial customers. 

"GRDA is committed to having the generation capability to meet the growing power needs in Oklahoma and to being a solution in fueling the engine for economic growth," he said in a statement. "We are currently assessing our next steps in terms of planning for these investments."

The state legislature created the authority in 1935 as a conservation and reclamation district for the Grand River. It is funded with revenue generated from electricity and water sales. 

As of Dec. 31, the authority's outstanding revenue bonds totaled $1.17 billion from issues sold in 2010, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2023, as well as in 2024, when $349 million of tax-exempt and taxable revenue and refunding bonds were sold, according to its latest financial report.

The 2024 bonds were rated A1 by Moody's Ratings and AA-minus by S&P Global Ratings, both with stable outlooks.

Fitch Ratings revised the outlook on the authority's A-plus rating to positive from stable in March, saying "evidence of effective risk management together with very strong financial performance would likely result in an upgrade."