SHREVEPORT, La. — SWEPCO will celebrate its 113th anniversary this month by bringing back a piece of history. The company was founded on June 29, 1912. To mark the occasion, the neon SWEPCO sign that once sat at the top of the Arsenal Hill power station will shine once again. The Arsenal Hill station sits on the outskirts of Downtown Shreveport near the Shreveport Fire Department’s main station.
Construction began on the Arsenal Hill plant in 1925. The 300-foot concrete chimneys were some of the tallest structures in Shreveport at the time and changed the city’s landscape. A year later on August 13, 1926, the plant began producing electricity for homes and businesses in Shreveport. Four turbogenerators produced enough electricity to reportedly heat nearly 17,000 coffee percolators, power more than 52,000 vacuum cleaners and run 166,000 fans.
“We are thrilled to bring the SWEPCO sign back to our Arsenal Hill power station. It is a part of our history that will once again shine a light on a community we love and call home,” said SWEPCO President and COO Brett Mattison. “SWEPCO’s commitment to our customers and our future also shines bright. This year, we will implement a massive pole replacement program. At the same time, we will continue our tree trimming program to help keep the lights on, even when Mother Nature has other plans. Most importantly we are adding new technology to better serve our family, friends and neighbors who trust us for their electricity.”
New technology is being used for the sign at the Arsenal Hill plant. The old sign, which was lit with neon has been replaced with energy-efficient LED lighting.
“LED lights are the perfect answer and one we routinely share with our customers as they look for better energy efficiency,” said Paul Pratt, Director of Customer Services and Marketing for SWEPCO. “I’m so proud of my colleagues for finding a solution, so we could restore this city landmark.”
Although the Arsenal Hill plant has been operating for nearly one hundred years, it and the J. Lamar Stall Unit Power Plant in Shreveport remain vital components of our power generation in northwest Louisiana.