Omaha Public Power District is forging ahead with major technology upgrades that will benefit customers. At this week’s board of directors committee meeting, OPPD staff outlined the work under way to transition to advanced metering infrastructure (AMI).
When fully implemented over the next few years, AMI and its surrounding ecosystem will help OPPD identify and pinpoint outages faster and with greater precision. New customer meters will send outage information to OPPD automatically, without the need for customer reporting.
The utility plans to test the technology with nearly 12,000 customers through a pilot program later this year. OPPD will communicate those next steps with customers in the coming months.
Related technology upgrades will include a new, interactive outage map with more detail about the cause of local outages, estimated restoration times and restoration progress. Individual customer outage information will remain private. The utility is also working on an improved customer platform with useful information and automatic texting and email notifications.
OPPD has been testing the technology and ran more than 4,000 test cases in 2024 to fine-tune the various new programs, said Matt Hardebeck, OPPD’s director of customer experience and operations.
“We’re validating everything to ensure we get it right,” Hardebeck said. “There’s a lot of people involved in this process.”
OPPD also has the advantage of learning from other utilities around the country that have already adopted the technology.
“We’ve been able to leverage a lot of those best practices,” Hardebeck said.
Heat the Streets Run & Walk Reminder
OPPD staff also reminded the public that the annual Heat the Streets Run & Walk for Warmth will take place March 1, 2025, at Zone 6 in Aksarben Village, 1911 S. 67th St in Omaha. The event is co-sponsored by OPPD and Metropolitan Utilities District to raise money for customer utility bill assistance. This year’s events include timed 5K and 10K races, an untimed one mile walk and a virtual run/walk. More information is available at heatthestreetsomaha.com.
Recognizing Jeff Bishop, OPPD’s vice president of Financial Services & Chief Financial Officer
OPPD’s board also recognized Jeff Bishop, OPPD’s vice president of Financial Services & Chief Financial Officer since 2021. Bishop recently announced he is leaving OPPD for another public utility job in his home state of Washington, where he still has family.
In remarks to the board this week, Bishop reflected fondly on his time at OPPD and recalled all the new generation projects, including the new Standing Bear Lake and Turtle Creek Stations.
During Bishop’s tenure, OPPD’s rates improved dramatically relative to the national average (31% lower than the national average in 2024, compared to 18.8% lower in 2021), which has helped keep eastern Nebraska competitive.
OPPD strengthened its finances as well, with a 52% increase in the utility’s Rate Stabilization Account, which helps replenish funds and stabilize rates. The utility paid down an additional $145 million above its required annual pension contribution and fully funded the trust that covers the cost of Fort Calhoun Station’s decommissioning.
“We’re in really good shape, and that’s a testament to our fantastic team,” Bishop said. “The groundwork for these outcomes has been in the making for many years and will continue into the future. I appreciate the tremendous opportunities I’ve had at OPPD. Everyone here has been just phenomenal. Most of all, I’ll miss the OPPD family and friendships that have been made.”
OPPD President and CEO Javier Fernandez said: “Jeff has done a phenomenal job. We owe a lot of our success to his steady hand and his ability to think ahead and get us ready for upcoming challenges.”
Other action
In other action, directors:
- Approved the January 2025 Meeting Minutes and the February Meeting Agenda.
- Approved the Standing Committee Annual Charter Reviews.
- Accepted the Strategic Directive 6: Safety monitoring report.
- Rejected an RFP bid and authorized management to negotiate for a contract to replace the exhaust stacks for Sarpy County Station Units 1 and 2.
Next board meetings
The next all-committees meeting will be held in-person Tuesday, March 18, at 10 a.m. at Blue Cross Blue Shield, 1919 Aksarben Dr., as well as virtually, via Webex. The meeting link and instructions will be available at OPPD.com/CommitteeAgenda, beginning about 9:45 a.m., depending on the duration of a preceding closed-session meeting, if needed.
The next monthly board meeting is Thursday, March 20, at 5 p.m., both in-person at the Legislative Chamber of the Omaha Civic Center, 1819 Farnam St., as well as virtually via Webex. The public can attend virtually by accessing the meeting link and instructions at OPPD.com/BoardAgenda, beginning at 4:45 p.m.