OPPD working proactively to strengthen generation sources against frigid winter temperatures

As frigid temperatures sweep through eastern Nebraska, Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) employees have been working proactively to keep power flowing to customers and fortify our generation sources against extreme weather. 

Utility leaders shared their progress with the OPPD Board of Directors during their committee meetings on Tuesday ahead of their monthly board meeting this evening. 

Extreme weather has increasingly affected electrical utilities nationwide, and OPPD is no different. Regional drought conditions in the upper Midwest have affected water levels of the Missouri River, which some of OPPD’s generators use to operate. Stricter national and regional regulations are also requiring utilities to enhance their winterization planning. 

“We’ve seen some amazingly cold spells of weather over the last year few years,” said Troy Via, OPPD’s chief operating officer and vice president of Utility Operations. “This caused us to reassess some of the protections we have at our generating stations. Obviously, it’s very important to keep electricity flowing. It’s a matter of safety, and we take that very seriously.” 

To address this challenge, OPPD has improved its processes and procedures using lessons from recent winter storms and invested in physical modifications to harden plants against the weather. OPPD has met and exceeded new regulatory standards for extreme cold conditions and executed plant-level preventative maintenance routines. OPPD has also built relationships with key river stakeholders, including state and federal officials, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and National Weather Service and other utilities along the Missouri River. 

Examples of plant improvements include heat tracing and indicator lights at Sarpy County Station to help regulate temperatures and remote temperature monitoring at Nebraska City Station to help alert plant employees to changing conditions. The new Turtle Creek Station and Standing Bear Lake natural gas balancing stations are designed to operate under extreme, sub-zero temperatures. 

OPPD will continue making improvements and learning from different storm events. The utility also plans to continue monitoring weather closely and working with local, state and federal agencies. New generation facilities being constructed and planned will be hardened for extreme cold by design and won’t rely on river cooling. OPPD will also keep collaborating with industry peers and stakeholders. 

“Each winter storm has been unique,” said Ryan Gerdts, OPPD’s director of operations. “We always approach them with the same continuous improvement mindset to identify things we can do to enhance our facilities.” 

Update on new generation 

OPPD leaders also announced a partnership with Kiewit Corporation, an Omaha-based construction and engineering firm, to add new natural gas generation and upgrade two existing natural gas turbines. 

The agreement announced Tuesday paves the way for three new natural gas units at OPPD’s Cass County Station and one additional unit at Turtle Creek Station in Sarpy County. Each unit can generate up to 225 megawatts (MW) of electricity and start up quickly to help respond to grid and load demand as needed. These projects were originally announced in February 2024.  

Kiewit’s power division will also help OPPD convert two natural gas units at Cass County Station to dual fuel generators, allowing them to run on either natural gas or fuel oil as a backup. Being able to use multiple fuels gives OPPD more flexibility with its operations. 

Combined, the new generation turbines at Turtle Creek and Cass County Stations will have the ability to generate around 900 MW once all work is complete. Under the agreement with OPPD, Kiewit will design everything necessary to set up and operate the turbines efficiently, procure many of the materials for the project and handle construction work, which is expected to start in spring 2025 at Cass County Station and shortly thereafter at Turtle Creek Station. 

Board officer positions for 2025 

The Board of Directors also elected members who will serve in leadership roles in 2025. Matt Core will serve as the new board chair. Mary Spurgeon will become the new vice chair. Amanda Bogner will serve as secretary and Craig Moody will serve as treasurer. 

The board also confirmed standing committee assignments for this coming year. Spurgeon will serve as Governance Committee chair. Craig Moody will serve as Finance Committee chair. Sara Howard will continue in her role as Customer and Public Engagement Committee chair. Eric Williams will serve as System Management & Nuclear Oversight Committee chair. Bogner will serve as Risk Committee chair. 

Directors also approved standing committee annual reports for 2024, indicating their approval of each committee’s performance with regards to accountabilities. 

Other action 

In other action, directors: 

• Approved the November 2024 Financial Report, December 2024 Meeting Minutes and the January 16 2025 Agenda.
• Approved a Governance Committee Charter Revision, removing a requirement that the Governance Committee chair be a former board chair 

Next board meetings 

The next all-committees meeting will be held in-person Tuesday, Feb. 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, Feb. 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.