Since 1957, rural electric cooperatives and public power systems in the southwestern region have been joined together as members of the Southwestern Power Resources Association (SPRA). What began as the Committee on Power for the Southwest, SPRA continues as a voluntary organization of consumer-owned electric systems located in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. These systems are customers of the Southwestern Power Administration, headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which markets hydroelectric power generated at 24 multi-purpose Corps of Engineers water projects in this region.
SPRA has a record of significant accomplishments on behalf of its membership. It supports appropriations for both the Corps of Engineers and the Southwestern Power Administration for water development studies, project construction, operation and maintenance (O&M), and the federal power marketing activities. We boast the first of its kind, tri-party Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), with Southwestern Power Administration and the US Army Corps of Engineers, allowing SPRA members to directly fund Corps non-routine O&M work necessary to ensure the reliability of hydropower projects.
SPRA has been a major force in defeating proposals to alter national policies requiring federal power be sold at cost and made available to nonprofit consumer-owned electric systems. These policies were enacted by Congress more than 90 years ago as a means to assure the benefits of national water resources development are retained by the public.
SPRA activities have benefited millions of rural and small town electric consumers in the Southwest region, while providing solid support for repayment of the federal investment in the power facilities in a consistent and timely manner. Grassroots support by its membership has assured the continued flow of federal power to the region on a not-for-profit basis.
Executive Director Nicki Fuller
Nicki Fuller, Executive DirectorNicki Fuller is the newly appointed Executive Director of Southwestern Power Resources Association.
Nicki comes from Southwestern Power Administration, where she served as a Public Utilities Specialist and Attorney Advisor. She has also worked in Southwestern’s Power Marking Liaison Office located in Washington D.C., serving as the Deputy Assistant Administrator for both Southwestern and Southeastern Power Administrations. In these roles, she has been involved in a wide variety of matters including regulatory, marketing and policy issues, as well as extensive work with Southwestern’s customers.
Nicki is a native of Marshfield, Missouri, where her family still resides. She graduated from Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science, as well as the University Of Tulsa College Of Law with her Juris Doctorate. While at TU, she served as a member of the Energy Law Journal.
Nicki and her husband John reside in Tulsa, Oklahoma where they spend their free time remodeling their 1950s era house, and enjoy as many weekends as possible on the local lakes.
Director of Operations Alice Wiltse
Alice Wiltse joined the SPRA team in November of 2015. A native of the SPRA member state of Louisiana, Alice’s previous experience includes time served on staff of the Honorable Rodney Alexander of Louisiana’s Fifth District Congressional Office.
Before joining SPRA, Alice traveled extensively, living in both Europe and Southeast Asia and touring more than a dozen countries around the world. After returning to the United States, Alice attended Georgetown University, where she graduated with a degree in Government with an emphasis in International Relations. She has worked with numerous humanitarian non-profits, including a non-profit she chartered, which served impoverished school systems in West Africa.
During her free time, Alice enjoys spending time with friends, rooting for the New Orleans Saints and visiting her hometown in central Louisiana, where her family still resides.