Little Rock captures $62 million project, 200 new jobs
by February 26, 2010 11:00 am 95 views
Southwest Power Pool formally announced Friday (Feb. 26) it will build a $62 million corporate headquarters building in Little Rock as part of an expansion that will add 200 new jobs.
The company will add 200 new jobs at the new facility, bringing total employment by 2012 to more than 600 people with total compensation approaching $75 million and average annual salaries of $83,500, according to a press release from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. The project is expected to be complete by late 2011.
SPP is a regional electric transmission organization that is mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to “ensure reliable supplies of power, adequate transmission infrastructure, and competitive wholesale prices of electricity,” according to the SPP Web site. The company dates to 1941, when 11 regional power companies joined to keep an Arkansas aluminum factory powered around the clock to meet critical defense needs.
The company covers a geographic area of 370,000 square miles, and as a regional transmission organization manages transmission in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. SPP has 56 members in the states and that serve over 5 million customers (some are wholesale customers). There are more than 15 million people in the SPP region.
Chenal Parkway in west Little Rock will be the site of the new location that will serve to consolidate three of the company’s operations.
SPP will invest $62 million in the facility and is finalizing the purchase of 20 acres off Chenal Parkway. SPP will consolidate its existing three locations in central Arkansas to the new campus.
“Building a campus for all employees will bring efficiencies, allowing us to focus on helping our members keep the lights on, build high-voltage transmission facilities, and develop new energy markets that will benefit our region,” SPP President and CEO Nick Brown noted in the AEDC statement.
On hand for the Friday morning announcement was Gov. Mike Beebe, who said the SPP expansion will bring “high-paying, good-quality jobs that will help our economy while bolstering the company’s success in our state.”