Through the years: 1974 to present
1974 — LCRA's second natural gas plant, Thomas C. Ferguson, begins operation off Lake LBJ in Llano County.
1974 — No longer economical, LCRA ceases operations at the Comal power plant in New Braunfels.
1974 — Faced with climbing natural gas prices, LCRA and City of Austin agree to build the Fayette Power Project (FPP) in Fayette County. They decide the plant will use coal instead of natural gas to fire its boilers.
1975 — State Legislature confirms LCRA's right to develop all sources of electric power — not just hydropower. LCRA also given right to preserve wildlife, to jointly own property and electric facilities and to sell power to the state government in Travis County. Also, state legislature gives LCRA power to build dams between Austin and the Gulf of Mexico.
1979 — The first electric generator at the Fayette Power Project begins operation.
1979 — City of Austin and LCRA agree to build a rail car maintenance facility in Smithville to maintain coal trains traveling between FPP and the mines of Wyoming.
1980 — FPP's second electric generator begins operation.
1981 — Elof Soderberg promoted to general manager of LCRA.
1982 — LCRA begins testing the quality of the water in the Colorado River.
1983 — LCRA purchases Lakeside Irrigation Company and begins managing irrigation canals in Colorado County.
1983 — Austin Service Center named after 30-year board member M.C. Dalchau.
1986 — S. David Freeman hired as LCRA's general manager.
1986 — LCRA expands its water quality monitoring program.
1986 — LCRA introduces its lighting replacement rebates and load management program as part of its conservation program.
1986 — The City of San Marcos purchases the local electrical distribution system from LCRA for $9.4 million.
1987 — The City of Kerrville purchases area electrical distribution system from LCRA. Issues $28 million in bonds for the purchase.
1988 — FPP's third electric generator goes on line under budget for $435 million.
1989 — The state Legislature clarifies LCRA's right to conduct energy and water conservation programs as well as engage in economic development efforts.
1989 — LCRA Board votes to cancel Cummins Creek lignite mine in Fayette County. Board finds quality of fuel not worth expense of mining operation.
1990 — LCRA's transmission group begins joint-planning of LCRA's transmission projects with its wholesale customers.
1990 — Mark Rose becomes LCRA's general manager.
1991 — The Colorado River Trail, a system of parks designed to increase the public's access to the Colorado River, opens at Beason Park in Columbus.
1992 — LCRA begins operation of the Camp Swift Regional Wastewater Project near Bastrop.
1992 — LCRA begins operation of Buchanan Dam Water Treatment Project.
1992 — LCRA's Board votes to freeze wholesale electric rates at current level until the year 2000.
1993 — LCRA concludes mining at its only operational lignite mine. LCRA begins reclamation at the Powell Bend mine in Bastrop County.
1994 — LCRA purchases West Travis County water system.
1995 — LCRA begins purchasing power from the Texas Wind Power Project. The wind plant is a joint effort among LCRA, Kenetech Corp. and the Texas General Land Office.
1995 — LCRA is one of 13 utilities across the nation to join an ambitious federal clean-air program to reduce "greenhouse" gases. LCRA's contribution is to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions at its power plants by an estimated 400,000 tons by the year 2000
May 1995 — The Memorial Day Flood along Sandy Creek points to a need for more local emergency information, leading to a partnership between LCRA and the National Weather Service to install NOAA Weather Radio transmitters throughout the basin.
October 1995 — LCRA's Board approves the Community Development Partnership Program to provide grants to communities and nonprofit organizations in LCRA's service area to help build parks, purchase equipment and other capital projects.
June 1997 — The Summer Flood of 1997 rivals the 1991 Christmas Flood in severity, but LCRA contains flooding within the floodplains. Floodwaters from Wirtz Dam create a gaping hole in the bedrock of Lake Marble Falls, requiring $4 million to repair.
February 1998 — LCRA announces an agreement to purchase the Garwood Irrigation Company, which holds the largest privately held block of water rights on the Colorado River.
September 1998 — LCRA opens the first of two premier outdoor facilities: McKinney Roughs Nature Park, a 1,600-acre ecological paradise between Austin and Bastrop. The following summer, Canyon of the Eagles opens on Lake Buchanan.
September 1999 — LCRA can now sell power outside of its traditional service area and expand its transmission operations throughout the state, as a result of new legislation that restructures and further deregulates the electric-utility industry.
October 1999 — LCRA and City of Austin officials sign an agreement to ensure adequate water supplies for the city for at least a 50-year period.
December 1999 — LCRA purchases the Pierce Ranch water rights, the last remaining block of privately held water rights in the basin.
January 2000 — Joseph J. Beal named LCRA's eighth general manager.
June 2001 — Lost Pines Unit 1 opens, adding more than 500 megawatts of capacity to LCRA's generating system. The unit is the first built and managed by an LCRA affiliate, GenTex Power Corporation, and the first owned jointly with a private company, the Calpine Corporation.
February 2002 — LCRA and San Antonio Water System officials sign a historic agreement to develop water resources to be shared by the lower Colorado River basin and the San Antonio area.
Go back: Through the Years: 1937-1973
Through the Years: Beginning