View GP&L Timeline with pictures: GP&L Through the Decades

April 1, 1923: C.E. Newman closes the switch on GP&L’s 117-kilowatt (KW) diesel generator, bringing service to 300 customers

1923: GP&L needs to add a third generator to meet rapid customer growth

1930: To meet a growing Garland's needs, generating capacity increased to 420 KW

1943: First interconnection with another utility, the Brazos Electric Power Cooperative

1942-1945: During World War II, the possibility of sabotage drove locals to increase security at critical places around Garland, including the power plant. For the first time, officials barred anyone other than approved personnel from entering the plant.

1952: First line truck is purchased

1955: Final expansion of the diesel plant is completed

1957: Construction of C.E. Newman Power Plant Units #1 and #2 is completed

1964: Final expansion of the Newman Plant to five units; C.E. Newman retires with GP&L having grown to 15,000 customers

1967: Construction of Ray Olinger Power Plant Unit #1 is completed near Lavon Lake

1971: Olinger Plant Unit #2 is completed

1974: GP&L's System Operations Center opens

1975: Olinger Plant Unit #3 is completed, with GP&L at 35,000 customers

1977: Garland becomes a partner in the Texas Municipal Power Agency (TMPA), created to construct a coal-fueled plant to eliminate dependence on natural gas as a boiler fuel

1980: The diesel plant on Avenue A is retired

1983: TMPA’s 420 megawatt (MW) Gibbons Creek Steam Electric Station is completed

1984: Naaman Substation is the first substation completed in-house by GP&L personnel

1993: GP&L purchases Farmer’s Electric Cooperative facilities within Garland city limits

1994: GP&L develops its first employee apprenticeship training program for distribution line workers

2001: 75 MW combustion turbine generator (Unit #4) installed at Olinger Plant, with GP&L at 66,000 customers

2003: GP&L purchases Spencer Power Plant in Denton, adding as much as 166 MW of energy production

2007: GP&L and Garland Parks, Recreation & Cultural Arts establish the Tree Power Free Tree Giveaway program to provide free trees to Garland residents

2014: GP&L completes two transmission lines to bring wind power from West Texas

2018: GP&L completes its portion of the Houston Import Project, a series of critical bulk power transmission lines for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas grid

2018: Green Choice plan offers 100% renewable wind and solar energy to customers

2020: GP&L provides safe, reliable electric service at competitive rates to Garland residents during the global COVID-19 pandemic

2021: TMPA sells the Gibbons Creek Steam Electric Station

April 1, 2023: With more than 73,000 customers, GP&L is the fourth largest municipal utility in Texas and the 43^rd largest in the nation