Power Marketing Administration
Encyclopedia
A Power Marketing Administration (PMA) is a United States federal agency within the Department of Energy
with the responsibility for marketing hydropower
, primarily from multiple-purpose water projects operated by the Bureau of Reclamation
, the Army Corps of Engineers
, and the International Boundary and Water Commission
.
The federal government first assumed a role in power marketing in the early 1900s when power from federal water projects in excess of project needs was sold in order to repay the government's investment in the projects.
There are four federal PMAs, which market and deliver power in 34 U.S. state
s:
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
with the responsibility for marketing hydropower
Hydropower
Hydropower, hydraulic power, hydrokinetic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of falling water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Since ancient times, hydropower has been used for irrigation and the operation of various mechanical devices, such as...
, primarily from multiple-purpose water projects operated by the Bureau of Reclamation
United States Bureau of Reclamation
The United States Bureau of Reclamation , and formerly the United States Reclamation Service , is an agency under the U.S...
, the Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
, and the International Boundary and Water Commission
International Boundary and Water Commission
The International Boundary and Water Commission is an international body created in 1889 by the United States and Mexico to administer the many boundary and water-rights treaties and agreements between the two nations....
.
The federal government first assumed a role in power marketing in the early 1900s when power from federal water projects in excess of project needs was sold in order to repay the government's investment in the projects.
There are four federal PMAs, which market and deliver power in 34 U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
s:
- Bonneville Power AdministrationBonneville Power AdministrationThe Bonneville Power Administration is an American federal agency based in the Pacific Northwest. BPA was created by an act of Congress in 1937 to market electric power from the Bonneville Dam located on the Columbia River and to construct facilities necessary to transmit that power...
- Southeastern Power AdministrationSoutheastern Power AdministrationThe Southeastern Power Administration is a United States Power Marketing Administration with responsibility for marketing hydroelectric power from 23 water projects operated by the U.S...
- Southwestern Power AdministrationSouthwestern Power AdministrationThe Southwestern Power Administration is an agency of the U.S. Department of Energy. Southwestern's mission was established by Section 5 of the Flood Control Act of 1944. The agency is a power marketing administration responsible for marketing the hydroelectric power produced at 24 U.S. Army...
- Western Area Power AdministrationWestern Area Power AdministrationThe Western Area Power Administration markets and delivers hydroelectric power and related services within a 15-state region of the central and western U.S. It is one of four power marketing administrations within the U.S...