Omaha Public Power District customers pay some of the lowest electricity rates in our region and our country according to the latest data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Utility leaders shared those details and more about efforts to keep power affordable in the annual Strategic Directive (SD) 2: Rates monitoring report presented to the OPPD Board of Directors during their committee meetings this week. The directive sets a goal for OPPD’s rates to be 10% below the average rates of the North Central Region, composed of Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota.
The report, shared by Beth Hoyle, director of Financial Planning and Analysis, is based on 2023 EIA data – the most recent comparison data available.
OPPD rates, averaged across all classes, were 15.8% below the regional average and 27.4% below the national average. Here’s the breakdown among specific rate classes:
- Residential rates were 14% below the regional average and 24.9% below the national average.
- Commercial rates were 22.2% below the regional average and 32.9% below the national average.
- Industrial rates were 11.6% below the regional average and 13.6% below the national average.
Hoyle also addressed affordability indicators, measured by average monthly bills versus our customers’ income, which shows the percentage of our customers’ energy burden has continued to decline.
“We are proactively connecting customers with resources to assist them with their electric bills and continuing work to ensure targeted and specific messaging for individual rate classes about rate increase drivers and impacts,” Hoyle said, “as well as providing customers with opportunities to talk with OPPD about the rate setting process.”
Directors accepted the SD-2 monitoring report during this evening’s monthly meeting, finding the utility to be sufficiently in compliance with the directive.
Directors also approved several actions to clean up outdated pricing structures and credits. Their vote came after receiving and considering feedback received during a 30-day public comment period at OPPDCommunityConnect.com/rates, announced during the May board committee meetings. Among the changes approved was the elimination of declining block rates, in which the per-unit price of the energy on a customer’s bill decreased as consumption increased. This is a revenue-neutral action that, depending on customer usage, can result in increases on some customer bills and decreases on others. Directors also voted to eliminate outdated energy management credits. Adjusted residential rates will take effect Oct. 1, 2025, and adjusted commercial rates will take effect Jan. 1, 2026.
In addition, the board approved an update to the existing meter opt-out rate. This allows the district to recover the incremental costs for customers who opt out of the new smart meters the same way customers have been able to opt out of the existing automated meters. The installation of the new smart meters will begin in the third quarter of this year with about 10,000 customers; remaining customers will have smart meters installed over the next couple of years throughout our service territory. Similar to the existing rate for automated meters, customers opting out of smart meters will pay a $50 a month for cost recovery to read their meters manually. They will also incur a one-time cost of $220 for the installation of the non communicating meter. These charges reflect OPPD’s added costs for maintaining systems and processes for two types of meters. The opt-out option for smart meters will be available to customers when we install meters in their specific neighborhoods.
OPPD will continue to share more information about smart meters and other technological upgrades, including those on our website, outage map and mobile app, in the coming months.
Other actions
In other action, directors:
- Approved the April 2025 financial reports, May 2025 meeting minutes and the June 19, 2025, board meeting agenda.
- Accepted the monitoring report for SD-15: Enterprise Risk Management. Acceptance means the board finds the utility to be sufficiently in compliance with the directive.
- Ratified the 2025 labor agreement for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1483.
- Authorized OPPD management to refinance NC2 separate system bonds.
- Awarded a labor contract to Valley Corporation in the amount of $2,362,702 for the procurement of construction services for the installation of 2.3 miles of concrete encased duct line and 35 associated manholes for a new distribution circuit in Omaha connecting OPPD’s North Omaha Station and Eppley Airfield.
- Approved the engineer’s certification and authorization for OPPD management to negotiate and enter into a contract or contracts for labor and minor materials to support the installation of bottom ash dewatering system modifications at North Omaha Station.
Next board meetings
There will be no board meetings in July. The next all-committees meeting will be held in-person Tuesday, August 19, 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, August 21, 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.