The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District is supporting the power grid through hydroelectric power generation as during the Jan 2026 Winter Storm. Tulsa District's eight hydroelectric dams and powerhouses were expected to provide a combined 6,628 megawatts or 6.628 Gigawatts to support the electric grid, Jan. 25, 2026. The Tulsa District operates and maintains eight powerhouses in Oklahoma and Texas: Keystone Dam Sand Springs, Okla. Fort Gibson Dam Fort Gibson, Okla. Webbers Falls Lock & Dam 16 Webbers Falls, Okla. Broken Bow Dam Broken Bow, Okla. Robert S. Kerr Lock and Dam 15 Sallisaw, Okla. Denison Dam Denison, Texas Tenkiller Dam Gore, Okla. Eufaula Dam Eufaula, Okla.

Just hours before the Jan. 23 Winter Storm hit Tulsa and surrounding areas, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District Senior Controller, Nick Hicks was on duty, waiting for the call to activate hydropower units if power was needed from the Fort Gibson Powerhouse in Fort Gibson, Okla. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District powerhouse personnel are responsible for maintaining and activating hydropower units when the grid needs peak power. Fort Gibson is one of eight Tulsa District powerhouses that can provide peak power to the electric grid in 15 minutes or less. Their efforts help ensure municipalities and end users have electricity when demand is highest.

The Dam Safety Production Center of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is collecting rock core samples in the area around Keystone Dam. USACE geotechnical engineers will use the data to understand the geological features of the soil at depths up to 210 feet. By collecting rock core samples, USACE engineers can design the project and plan for the construction phase. The Keystone Dam Safety Modification Project is a dam safety initiative to reduce risk of overtopping from statistically possible storm events. The project is in the pre-construction engineering and design phase, which is expected to last several years.

The Army Corps of Engineers is designing a low water dam on the Arkansas River near Sand Springs, Oklahoma as part of the Arkansas River Corridor Project. The Dam Safety Production Center began conducting anchor testing late in the summer of 2025. The Arkansas River Corridor Project will promote water quality, ecosystem restoration, and recreation opportunities. Anchor testing gives engineers an idea of how well the earth beneath the structure will bond with the foundation, and ensures the project remains in place during flooding. "The rock isn't always the same in one location versus another. We have a general idea of how this rock would behave from Keystone Dam, just up the road, but to ensure that the localized geology isn't going to significantly impact our results, we want to do a proof verification," said Jeffrey Stevens, geotechnical engineer, DSPC, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.