Newsletters > February 2007 Customer Newsletter
News from the Northeast Nebraska Public Power District
February 2007
This newsletter is to keep you informed of how the Board of Directors, Management and Employees of the Northeast Nebraska PPD are working to serve you. We want to continue to make ourselves available for your comments and suggestions. Please let us hear from you by calling 800-750-9277.
Ice Storm
For the 2nd year in a row, Nebraska was hit by a wide-spread Holiday Ice
Storm. Ice is so devastating to electric lines for two reasons: 1)The
build up of ice adds so much weight that exceeds the lines ability to
hold up and 2) The ice build up catches and multiplies the force of the
wind on wires. The force of the wind is measured in pounds just like
the force of the added weight of the ice. Electric lines are built to
handle 2 or 3 times their normal weight. The Northeast Nebraska PPD missed
most of the storm, but had dozens of poles broken in the Foster and Plainview
areas. In the early hours of the storm we lost power to about half the
system (from Winside westward) due to the high voltage lines owned by
NPPD being damaged. Our crews rerouted what they could and restored power
to all but about 500 people by the end of the first day. It took another
day to get everyone but 8 customers back in power. Wind did cause a 6
hour outage in western Dixon County on New Year’s Eve. The timing
couldn’t have been worse for Holiday plans. Our crews had the lights
back on in Dixon County by 7:30 pm New Year’s Eve. Throughout this
entire storm, our phones were answered by NPPD’s call center in
Norfolk. There have been some reports of confusion about what the call
center personnel told folks about where and when our crews were working.
I have talked to NPPD about this situation and regret any confusion.
We sent crews westward to Battle Creek and Creighton because the damage
was much worse in the center of the State. In fact, we still have four
men working around Battle Creek. It will take about a year for all electric
lines throughout the State to be returned to their pre-storm condition.
NPPD to raise the cost of Wholesale Power – Retail rates
to pass this cost along starting in April
Here at the Northeast Nebraska PPD, we have successfully worked not to
raise retail rates since 2003. This means that we have absorbed all of
our cost of doing business including increases in wages, fuel and materials
(the price of truck fuel and metal wire skyrocketed since 2003). Since
2003, we have absorbed two price adjustments in the cost of wholesale power
without increasing retail rates. Our wholesale power provider, NPPD has
indicated that our cost of power will increase by nearly 4% for 2007 and
continue 4% increases annually for the next several years. It has also
been reported in the media that NPPD may need additional rate increases
to fund the repairs required by this year’s ice storm.
The Board of Directors of the NeNPPD commissioned a rate study to advise the Board and Management on the amount of a retail rate increase for 2007, but also the manner in which it is collected. This rate study is timely since no changes in rates (except leased lighting charges) have been made since 2003. One intent of the study is to look at the costs to serve different kinds of customers and to set rates so that one type of customer (called a ‘rate class’) doesn’t overpay and subsidize another rate class. The results of this study will be presented at the February 27 meeting of the Board of Directors. The Board will set new retail rates based on the adjustments required by our cost of doing business, the increased cost of wholesale power and the adjustments required to keep rate classes equitable. It is the intention of the Board to not collect more than 4 % increase in total revenues..
How to cope with long power outages
Can anything be more inconvenient than the loss of power for days or weeks?
Probably not. But it is still very much a possibility, as folks in the
central part of the state now know. Bad weather is usually the blame
for long power outages and extreme temperatures can make being without
power unbearable or deadly. Everyone should have an emergency plan of
action to protect themselves, their property and businesses when the
power is out for days or weeks. The customers of Northeast Nebraska PPD
have been lucky the last two years to miss the worst of the storms, but
our day will come when most of our lines are torn down by ice and wind,
in fact it could still happen this year…. No one ever knows. For
family members that are elderly or require medical attention, perhaps
the best plan is to leave the area if possible and move in with family
or check into a hotel. Customers often are concerned with refrigerators
and freezers, which usually are fine for days if the doors are kept closed.
Refrigerated goods are much less a concern in winter temperatures than
during summer. If repairs take longer than a couple of days, utilities
will typically make announcements through the media about the progress
in restoring power. You might imagine that the phone lines stay overwhelmed
as people either report outages or make inquiries. If the weather is
bitter cold then water pipes must be a concern to address, as is water
for livestock. Portable generators can provide a minimum amount of emergency
power to typically run one appliance and a light or two. It is usually
expensive to get a generator large enough run any form of heat. Customers
are reminded that they must hire an electrician to install a double throw
safety switch if they want to hook a generator into the home’s
wiring. A generator improperly connected into the home’s wiring
can feed out onto the electric lines and be deadly to our linemen out
working. Of course stand-alone generators that are not connected to the
home’s wiring do not present this concern. Most really wide spread
and long outages are caused by weather however, severe outages can be
caused by failures in equipment, materials, or human error and these
too can happen at anytime.
You should know that utility personnel are on duty around the clock when major outages strike. Our entire focus is to restore service as quickly and as safely as we can. Our employees have many year’s experience and know the standard protocols for restoring power. The main high voltage lines and substations must work or no one in the area served by that substation has power. This work takes priority over distribution feeders out of the subs. Once work starts on the distribution feeders then the priority is how to get the most number of people back on the quickest. Isolated customers at the ends of lines will typically be out of power the longest. We do not make individual decisions about restoring power. Everyone is important and we try to get as many back in service as fast as possible. Our crews work very long days with very little rest. Our control center is manned 24 hours a day when a big storm strikes. If need be crews will be brought in from other areas to help, just as we sent crews west. Everything humanly possible will be done to get the lights back on, but each customer is ultimately responsible for their own individual situation and must make their own decisions regarding their comfort and safety.
Open Board Meetings
The Board of Directors of the Northeast Nebraska PPD holds all of its meetings
in accordance with the State of Nebraska’s ‘Open Meeting
Laws’. The general public is welcome to attend any meeting at any
time and attendees are invited to address the Board at each meeting.
Below is the schedule of meetings for 2007. This schedule is also available
at www.nnppd.com. All meetings for 2007 will be held in the Training
Room, Wayne Operations Center, 1410 W. 7th St., Wayne, Nebraska.
Month |
Date |
Day |
Time |
Location |
Purpose |
February |
27 |
Tuesday |
10:00 am |
Wayne |
Regular Meeting |
March |
27 |
Tuesday |
10:00 am |
Wayne |
Regular Meeting |
April |
24 |
Tuesday |
7:30 pm |
Wayne |
Regular Meeting |
May |
22 |
Tuesday |
7:30 pm |
Wayne |
Regular Meeting |
June |
26 |
Tuesday |
7:30 pm |
Wayne |
Regular Meeting |
July |
24 |
Tuesday |
1:00 pm |
Wayne |
Regular Meeting |
August |
28 |
Tuesday |
1:00 pm |
Wayne |
Regular Meeting |
September |
25 |
Tuesday |
1:00 pm |
Wayne |
Regular Meeting |
October |
23 |
Tuesday |
7:30 pm |
Wayne |
Regular Meeting |
November |
27 |
Tuesday |
7:30 pm |
Wayne |
Regular Meeting |
December |
18 |
Tuesday |
1:00 pm |
Wayne |
Regular Meeting |
Welcome New Employees
We are pleased to announce that Cathy Dempcy, Billing Clerk and David Dredge,
Apprentice Lineman have begun work for the District. Both Cathy and David
are from Randolph. Jodi Hingst from Pilger has started work as a Billing
Clerk. Scott Abraham of Wayne has accepted the job of Technician and
will lead our efforts to install Automated Meter Reading equipment this
year.
In Memory
Since our last newsletter we are saddened at the loss of John A. Bessmer,
Apprentice Lineman from Pender. John was killed in a one-vehicle accident
in November, 2006. John was a good man and fine employee and we miss
him.
Safety Tip: Always assume all downed power lines to be energized and stay away. Report 24/7 to 800-750-9277.
The Board of Directors and Manager can be viewed on this page
View this and previous newsletters at our website www.nnppd.com
Click here for a printable PDF version of the February 2007 Newsletter