OPPD board approves 2026 budget with 6.3% average rate adjustment and updated resolution on North Omaha Station operations

At their monthly meeting this evening, the Omaha Public Power District Board of Directors approved the utility's $2.98 billion Corporate Operating Plan for 2026. It will raise rates by an average of 6.3% across all customer classes. 

Key drivers for the adjustments include increased net power costs (fuel and purchased power), rising capital investments to maintain system reliability and sharply escalating costs for essential utility materials. Additionally, OPPD must bolster its reserve energy margins, above and beyond what our customers use at peak times, to meet the new requirements of the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), its regional transmission organization. Higher reserve margins are designed to help ensure system reliability. 

The budget, effective Jan. 1, includes a 5.8% general rate increase and a 0.5% increase to the Fuel and Purchased Power Adjustment (FPPA, a line item on customer bills that addresses changing fuel and purchased power costs outside of the utility’s control. Even with this adjustment, OPPD’s rates are 30% below the national average, according to the Energy Information Administration. 

• Residential customer rates will increase by 6%
  • Average bill of $115 would go up by about $7 a month 
• Commercial customer bills rates will increase by an average of 3.7% 
• Industrial customer bills rates will increase by an average of 8.9%  

To help mitigate a rate increase in 2026, OPPD reduced internal costs in 2025 by nearly $60 million, including a hiring freeze for non-critical roles and deferring or canceling projects. For context, $60 million in cost savings roughly equates to an additional 4% in avoided rate increases.  

The 2026 budget includes essential projects that directly affect customer service and system performance, such as generation additions, transmission and distribution upgrades and infrastructure hardening to protect against severe weather. It also includes the installation of more automated metering infrastructure and technology upgrades to improve customer service. 

Customers struggling with their utility bills are encouraged to contact OPPD at 402-536-4131 or 1-877-536-4131 (outside of the Omaha calling area) for assistance.  

Board vote on North Omaha Station 

The board voted to approve an updated resolution that extends current operations at North Omaha Station, (NOS), while adding detailed planning steps and timelines to prioritize future retirement and fuel conversion. The updated resolution authorizes continued operation of NOS in its current configuration—Units 1, 2, and 3 operating primarily on natural gas and Units 4 and 5 on coal—while establishing a structured process for transitioning the station. 

Compared to the version posted for public comment in November, the updated resolution includes: 

• Specific planning assumptions that the 2026 Integrated System Plan (ISP) will assume refueling of Units 4 and 5 to natural gas and retirement of Units 1, 2 and 3. 
• Procedural steps and timelines, including initiating a transmission tariff study with the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) within 30 days of receiving required interconnection agreements and board action within 120 days after ISP completion.
• Expanded ISP analysis, covering system reliability, prioritization of transmission and distribution investments to enable the retirement and fuel conversion of NOS.
• Quarterly progress updates to the board after approval of solutions.
• Directives for a comprehensive distributed capacity procurement plan to modernize and strengthen the local electrical grid.
  

“The new schedule outlined in the resolution is the fastest, most responsible path forward to the refueling and retirement of NOS” said OPPD President and CEO Javier Fernandez. “We will continue to work closely with SPP and other stakeholders to enable a responsible transition while maintaining service for our customers.” 

The decision comes amid rapid load growth and significantly increased winter planning reserve margin requirements from SPP. OPPD has added 23,000 new customers in the past five years, with energy demand rising by approximately 500 megawatts – equivalent to the load served by Grand Island and Hastings utilities combined.  

Since 2013, OPPD has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 40%. Since 2015, sulfur dioxide emissions are down 50%, nitrous oxide emissions are down 40% and mercury emissions are down more than 90%. NOS Units 4 and 5 hold Low Emitter status under federal Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, meaning they’re below 50% of federal emissions limits. 

In other action, the board: 

• Approved the October 2025 financial report, November 2025 meeting minutes, and Dec.18, 2025, meeting agenda.
• Approved a declaration to reimburse anticipated 2026 capital expenditures with tax-exempt bond proceeds.  
• Approved the Engineer’s Certification and authorized OPPD management to negotiate and enter into a contract or contracts for Nebraska City Station Unit 2 turbine and generator repair labor and technical services.
• Approved the Engineer’s Certification and authorized OPPD management to negotiate and enter a contract with Emerson to upgrade the distributed control system of Nebraska City Station Unit 2.
• Awarded a contract to Extreme Precision Industrial Contractors in the amount of $1,836,510 for material and labor services to install fabric expansion joints at Nebraska City Station Unit 1.
• Approved the Engineer’s Certification and authorized management to negotiate and enter into a contract or contracts with General Electric for the material and services needed to refurbish the North Omaha Station Unit 4 low pressure turbine.
• Received and accepted the monitoring reports for Strategic Directive (SD) 8: Employee Relations, SD-11: Economic Development and SD-12: Security and Information Management. Acceptance means the board finds the utility sufficiently in compliance with the directives. 

Next board meetings  

The next all-committees meeting will be held in person Tuesday, Jan. 13, at 10 a.m. at OPPD administrative offices, 1919 Aksarben Dr. in Omaha, and virtually via Webex. The meeting link and instructions will be available at OPPD.com/CommitteeAgenda, beginning at about 9:45 a.m.  

The next monthly board meeting is Thursday, Jan. 15, at 5 p.m., in person at the Legislative Chamber of the Omaha-Douglas Civic Center, 1819 Farnam St., as well as virtually via Webex. The public can attend virtually via the meeting link and instructions at OPPD.com/BoardAgenda, beginning at 4:45 p.m.