ABOUT THE UPPER GREAT PLAINS REGION

​The Upper Great Plains Region carries out WAPA’s mission in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota. We sell more than 9 billion kilowatt-hours of firm power generated from eight dams and power plants of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program-Eastern Division. This power is enough to serve more than 3 million households. We deliver this hydropower through nearly 100 substations and across nearly 7,800 miles of Federal power lines, which are connected with other regional transmission systems and groups.

To keep power moving through the system, we rely on our operations in Watertown, S.D., in which dispatchers determine where to deliver power based on demand in our six-state area. We also rely on maintenance crews to keep the power lines and equipment working properly.

PROVIDE SERVICES

In UGP, we sell and deliver firm hydropower to rural electric cooperatives, cities and towns, public utility districts, irrigation districts, state agencies, and Native Americans. Although our Region covers WAPA’s largest geographic service territory, 378,000 square miles of sweeping prairie and fertile farmland, we are committed to personally visiting customers at every opportunity. We recognize the importance of understanding our customers’ individual circumstances and valuing their business.

In addition to selling generation and maintaining the power system, we offer services tailored to specific customer needs. These include providing technical expertise on such topics as efficient lighting, residential heating, and equipment loans to help customers plan for future power needs. Other services include ensuring customers meet national standards when building power lines and switchyards that interconnect with WAPA facilities.

To serve these customer needs, we work from 22 duty stations throughout the Region. We keep the power flowing while ensuring environmental protection, employee safety, and system security; managing day-to-day administrative tasks; operating and maintaining the transmission system; and administering contracts and setting rates.