NPPD board approves status quo, despite calls for clean energy

COLUMBUS, Neb. — The Nebraska Public Power District Board of Directors approved, by a vote of 8 to 2, to finalize the utility’s 2018 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) and submit it to the Western Area Power Association (WAPA).

The Energy Policy Act of 1992 requires all WAPA customers to submit an IRP every five years.

An IRP is the end result of a planning process that is intended to evaluate the full range of alternatives, including new generating capacity, power purchases, energy conservation and efficiency, co-generation and renewable energy resources with a goal to ensure utilities associated with WAPA provide adequate, reliable and cost-effective service to its electric consumers.

Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign Representative in Nebraska, John Crabtree, issued the following statement:

“Despite overwhelming support from customers to prioritize cost, NPPD staff explained that “no additional IRP work was performed regarding new resource cost assumptions, and no alternative resource plans to the existing resource mix were developed or analyzed.”

Approval of this IRP without cost comparisons and exploration of cost savings would ignore compelling market data and ignore an issue of great importance to all Nebraskans living in NPPD’s service territory.”

In response to the original Draft 2018 IRP, Sierra Club released an analysis entitled “NPPD Going Nowhere Fast” that outlines multiple, high priority weaknesses in NPPD Draft IRP.

NPPD Directors, Ed Schrock, Tom Hoff, Jerry Chlopek, Barry Dekay, Melissa Freelend, Thomas Hoff, Bill Johnson, Ken Kunze, Gary Thompson voted to approve the Draft IRP and submit the document to WAPA. Directors Mary Harding and Fred Christensen voted against final approval.

Director Bill Hoyt was absent voting due to illness.