Golden Spread Electric Cooperative

What Golden Spread Electric Cooperative does

Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, Inc. is a not-for-profit generation and transmission (G&T) cooperative organized in 1984 and headquartered in Amarillo, Texas. The cooperative provides low-cost, reliable electric power and energy to its 16 member distribution cooperatives, which collectively serve approximately 336,000 electric meters across the Texas Panhandle, South Plains, Edwards Plateau regions of Texas, the Oklahoma Panhandle, Southwest Kansas, and Southern Colorado—a geographic footprint covering 24% of Texas land mass. Golden Spread owns and operates approximately 1,745 MW of generation capacity across four facilities: Antelope Station (165.4 MW natural gas reciprocating engines near Abernathy, TX), Elk Station (582.1 MW GE combustion turbines), Mustang Station (926.7 MW combined cycle near Denver City, TX), and Panhandle Wind Ranch (78.2 MW Siemens wind turbines near Wildorado, TX), and participates in both the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) and Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) wholesale markets.

The cooperative's generation portfolio is designed for flexibility and rapid response, with fast-start combustion turbines achieving full output in as little as 10 minutes and Wärtsilä reciprocating engines reaching maximum output in five minutes. This flexibility enables optimization across dual-market participation in SPP and ERCOT. Golden Spread also provides transmission services as an ERCOT Transmission Operator for some membership, with FERC-compliant operations. As a member-owned cooperative, Golden Spread reinvests revenues into infrastructure and services rather than distributing profits, and operates member programs including the Directors' Memorial Scholarship, the Mark W. Schwirtz Employee Memorial Scholarship, an internship program, and an employee-run Community Involvement Committee. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed, consistent with the cooperative's not-for-profit status.

Name

Golden Spread Electric Cooperative

Legal name

Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, Inc.

Website

https://gsec.coop

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Golden Spread Electric Cooperative is a not-for-profit generation and transmission cooperative that provides wholesale electricity to 16 member distribution cooperatives serving approximately 336,000 meters across Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Electric Power Generation and Transmission (Cooperative Utility)

NAICS

Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution (2211)

SIC

Electric Services (4911)

akta.pro primary industry

Electric Cooperatives (Rural/Member-Owned Utilities) (EUADABAC)

Keywords

• Electric power generation
• Transmission services
• Natural gas generation
• Wind energy generation
• Cooperative utility

Headquarters

HQ city

Amarillo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Golden Spread Electric Cooperative is a not-for-profit generation and transmission (G&T) cooperative that owns and operates an approximately 1,745 MW diversified fleet of natural gas and wind generation facilities to supply low-cost reliable wholesale electric power and energy to its 16 member distribution cooperatives. It also provides FERC-compliant transmission services as an ERCOT Transmission Operator for portions of its membership, enabling delivery of power across the Texas Panhandle, South Plains, Edwards Plateau, Oklahoma Panhandle, Southwest Kansas, and Southern Colorado.

Product overview

Golden Spread Electric Cooperative is a not-for-profit generation and transmission (G&T) cooperative that provides electric power to 16 member distribution cooperatives serving approximately 336,000 meters. The company operates a diverse generation fleet totaling approximately 1,700-1,745 MW of owned generation capacity consisting of four main facilities: Antelope Station (165.4 MW natural gas, near Abernathy, TX), Elk Station (582.1 MW natural gas combustion turbines), Mustang Station (926.7 MW combined cycle, near Denver City, TX), and Panhandle Wind Ranch (78.2 MW wind, near Wildorado, TX). Beyond generation, the cooperative provides transmission services acting as ERCOT Transmission Operator for some membership, and offers member programs including scholarships (Directors' Memorial Scholarship, Mark W. Schwirtz Employee Memorial Scholarship) and an internship program. The company also operates an employee-run Community Involvement Committee for civic engagement. The product portfolio is a unified set of energy services centered on reliable power generation and transmission for member-owned distribution cooperatives across the Texas Panhandle, South Plains, Oklahoma Panhandle, Southwest Kansas, and Southern Colorado.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GSEC: Golden Spread Electric Cooperative brand abbreviation used on the website and in communications

Products and services

• Antelope Station Natural gas-fired power plant near Abernathy, Texas with 165.4 MW capacity consisting of eighteen 9.34 MW Wartsilä reciprocating engine generators capable of achieving full output in five minutes, using a closed-loop cooling system that minimizes water consumption to 1-3 gallons per engine per day. Provides flexible, fast-start generation to member distribution cooperatives.
• Elk Station Natural gas-fired combustion turbine facility with GE 7F.05 turbines and total capacity of 582.1 MW featuring fast-start capability that can generate maximum output in as little as 10 minutes. Elk Station was identified by GE as a fleet leader for fast-start performance.
• Mustang Station Combined cycle facility near Denver City, Texas with 926.7 MW capacity comprising GE 7FA combustion turbine generators, an Alstom steam turbine generator, and simple cycle units. Features inlet chillers and bypass stacks on Units 1 and 2 for flexible operation in multiple configurations; the inlet chiller on Unit 6 boosted output by 14 MW. Award-winning safety record.
• Panhandle Wind Ranch (GSPWR) Wind energy facility near Wildorado, Texas with 78.2 MW capacity from thirty-four 2.3 MW Siemens wind turbine generators using 160 ft blades that sweep an area longer than a football field. Operates in wind speeds from 9 mph to 56 mph with optimal output at 26 mph, expected to generate approximately 342,500 MWh annually. Provides renewable fuel diversity for the cooperative's generation portfolio.
• Transmission Services Transmission services acting as ERCOT Transmission Operator for portions of its membership, providing reliable, responsive, and cost-effective energy delivery across the cooperative's service territory in compliance with FERC regulations. Operators monitor the grid in real-time from the Operations Center to respond to changing conditions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Antelope Station has a maximum plant output of 165.4 MW
• +4 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• The Opportunity Plan, Inc.coreOthersThe Opportunity Plan, Inc. of Canyon, Texas administers Golden Spread's scholarship programs, including the Directors' Memorial Scholarship and Mark W. Schwirtz Employee Memorial Scholarship.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Brazos Electric Power Cooperative: Brazos is the largest generation and transmission cooperative in Texas, serving distribution coops across the state with owned generation and transmission. It is the closest direct peer to Golden Spread: same state, same G&T cooperative structure, same mix of member-owned distribution coops and SPP/ERCOT exposure.
• Seminole Electric Cooperative: Seminole is a not-for-profit G&T cooperative serving member distribution coops across Florida with a mix of natural gas, coal, and solar generation. It is a direct structural peer to Golden Spread — same cooperative G&T model, similar diversified thermal-plus-renewable generation mix, and similar member-owned off-take model.
• Basin Electric Power Cooperative: Basin Electric is a large multi-state G&T cooperative serving member systems across the Upper Midwest and Western U.S. with a diversified generation portfolio. Comparable to Golden Spread in cooperative structure, FERC-regulated transmission, and member-driven off-take, though operating at significantly larger scale and in different ISOs.
• Associated Electric Cooperative: Associated Electric is a generation and transmission cooperative serving six member distribution coops and three others across Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Direct structural peer to Golden Spread: same G&T cooperative model, similar FERC compliance profile, and overlapping service territory in Kansas/Oklahoma.
• Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association: Tri-State is a not-for-profit G&T cooperative supplying wholesale power to member electric coops across Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Wyoming and parts of Kansas. Direct peer to Golden Spread in cooperative G&T structure, member-owned distribution off-take, and diversified generation portfolio.
• PowerSouth Energy Cooperative: PowerSouth is a generation and transmission cooperative serving member distribution coops across Alabama and the Florida Panhandle with natural gas, coal, and hydro generation. Direct structural peer to Golden Spread in G&T cooperative model and member-owned off-take structure, with partial geographic overlap in the Florida Panhandle near Golden Spread's southern reach.
• Oglethorpe Power Corporation: Oglethorpe Power is a not-for-profit generation and transmission cooperative serving 38 member distribution electric membership corporations across Georgia. Direct peer to Golden Spread in cooperative G&T structure, member-owned off-take model, and diversified fossil-plus-renewable generation mix.

Regional players

• East Texas Electric Cooperative: East Texas Electric Cooperative is a Texas generation and transmission cooperative supplying wholesale power to member distribution coops in East Texas. Regional peer to Golden Spread in cooperative G&T structure and Texas member-coop off-take, though operating in a different part of the state and primarily in the MISO/ERCOT interface.

Others

• National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (Cooperative Finance Corp / CFC): CFC is the dedicated lending and finance cooperative for the U.S. rural electric cooperative network, providing capital to G&T and distribution coops including Golden Spread's ecosystem. Adjacent ecosystem peer — not a generator, but a core financing and governance counterparty for the same cooperative model Golden Spread operates in.

Broad incumbents

• Vistra Corp: Vistra is one of the largest competitive power generators and retailers in the U.S., with significant Texas/ERCOT and SPP exposure, including combined-cycle and simple-cycle gas plants. Broad incumbent peer: overlaps with Golden Spread in ERCOT/SPP generation and dispatchable gas technology, but operates as an investor-owned IPP rather than a member-owned G&T cooperative.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Golden Spread Electric Cooperative