As Winter Storm 2026 pushed energy demand to its highest levels of the season, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Little Rock District played a key role in keeping power flowing across the region. From January 23 through January 27, district hydropower plants generated more than 54,000 megawatt hours of electricity.
That output is equivalent to the average monthly electricity needs of roughly 62,000 homes, or the annual needs of more than 5,100 homes, emphasizing the essential role hydropower plays during extreme weather events.
The district’s hydropower portfolio accounts for 55.5 percent of Southwestern Power Administration’s total generation capacity. That output is made possible by efficient, around‑the‑clock operations at Beaver, Table Rock, Bull Shoals, Norfork, and Greers Ferry in the White River Basin, as well as Ozark and Dardanelle on the McClellan–Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System.
The Ozark Powerhouse, part of the Ozark‑Jeta Taylor Lock and Dam project on the McClellan Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System near Ozark, Arkansas, features five slant‑axis hydropower generators that draw energy from the Arkansas River. The run‑of‑river plant’s five 20 megawatt units came online between November 1972 and May 1974, giving the facility a total generating capacity of 100 megawatts. Operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Little Rock District, the powerhouse produces an average of 429,000 megawatt hours of renewable energy each year.
The district’s focus on maximizing hydropower delivery ensures SWPA has the flexible, reliable energy they need during both routine operations and high‑demand conditions like winter storms and summer heatwaves.
Electricity produced at these plants is marketed by SWPA and delivered to not‑for‑profit municipal utilities, military installations, and rural electric cooperatives across Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. Revenue from hydropower generation helps repay original construction costs and supports ongoing operations, maintenance, and modernization of these units.