Dan Sullivan

Dan Sullivan is the President/Chief Executive Officer for the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) and has served in that position since December 1, 2011.

At GRDA, Sullivan oversees a diverse electric generation portfolio of hydro, coal, wind and natural gas resources which includes Oklahoma’s first hydroelectric facility (Pensacola Dam) as well one of the most efficient combined cycle gas generation units in the world, GRDA Unit 3. Constructed by Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, the unit was the first of its kind in the Western Hemisphere when it went online in the fall of 2017.

GRDA also operates a significant portion of the national power grid, comprised of over 1,200 miles of electric transmission lines and related facilities. GRDA, which employs over 500 Oklahomans, also manages some of the state’s most important water resources, including Grand Lake, Lake Hudson and W.R. Holway Reservoir within the Grand River Watershed, as well as the scenic Illinois River. GRDA oversees these resources with an aggressive and comprehensive ecosystems management program.

That natural resource management function has been a key part of GRDA’s mission since it was created in 1935 to be a conservation and reclamation district for the Grand River. A non-appropriated state agency, GRDA is fully supported by revenues from electric and water sales instead of taxes and is the largest public power utility in Oklahoma.

In his GRDA leadership role, Sullivan is an advocate for low-cost electricity generation as well as using the resources of GRDA for economic development across Oklahoma. He is also a voice for GRDA and Oklahoma public power on the national level as the immediate past Chair of the Large Public Power Council (LPPC) Board of Directors. Comprised of the nation’s 26 largest publicly-owned utilities, LPPC collectively owns more than 86,000 megawatts of generation capacity in the United States. He has also served on the LPPC Steering Committee and is the CEO sponsor for the Government Relations Task Force.

Additionally, he has served public power on the national level as a member of the American Public Power Association (APPA) Board of Directors, 2013-2020. During that term, he also served on the APPA Board’s Audit, Finance and Strategic Planning Committees.

Prior to his service to GRDA, Sullivan practiced law in Tulsa for 23 years and was a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives for District 71 in Tulsa for 7 years. During his tenure in the Oklahoma House of Representatives Sullivan served as Majority Floor Leader in 2006 and 2011. His major accomplishments in the Legislature resulted in significant reform in the Worker’s Compensation and Lawsuit areas. Sullivan graduated from Wagoner High School in 1981 and attended Northeastern State University where he received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He also earned a law degree at the University Of Tulsa College Of Law. Sullivan and his wife, Melanie, have one son, Joseph, and one daughter, Cora. They make their home in the Tulsa area.