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Powering Our Future

It is a time of monumental change in the utility industry. Utilities must embrace innovation and move quickly to find new and better ways to deliver affordable, reliable, sustainable, and resilient electricity to customers as well as products and services to help improve their quality of life.

Electricity is the lifeblood of modern society and the economy. Nebraska Public Power District plays critical role in ensuring it’s available at the flip of a switch for Nebraskans. We are proud of public power’s rich history of providing reliable and affordable electricity to Nebraskans. Yet, we are mindful that the state’s energy future is defined by what we do every day.

With this in the mind, the Nebraska Public Power District Board of Directors created several Strategic Directives. These Strategic Directives will guide us through what we need to do today and the days ahead to power a brighter future for generations to come.

Strategic Directives

Strategic Foundation (BP-SD-01)


The Vision and Mission statements below shall serve as the foundation for the strategic directives that follow:

VISION: We are a premier energy provider bringing the best of public power to Nebraskans, powering everyday life and a brighter future.

MISSION: Safely generate and deliver reliable, low-cost, sustainable energy and related services, while providing outstanding customer service.

Safety (BP-SD-02)


Achieving and maintaining a safe working environment is a core Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) value that is vital to ensuring that all NPPD employees return home safely at the end of each workday. NPPD shall strive to create a culture of interdependence regarding safety, understanding that we are safer together when employees are concerned for and responsive to their entire work team.

Through continuous improvement efforts and mindset, NPPD will be recognized as a leader in employee safety and the safety of the public by conducting operations and maintaining facilities to high standards.  

The District standard shall be to achieve consistent year-over-year improvement in its safety culture and safety performance as measured by OSHA’s Days Away Restricted Time (DART) rate, Recordable Incident rate, Preventable Vehicle Accident rate, and by routine field observations, conversations, and interactions with employees and by regular safety program and safety culture assessments.

Reliability / Resiliency (BP-SD-03)

Nebraska Public Power District’s (NPPD) generation, transmission, and distribution systems must operate reliably to meet the energy needs of NPPD customers. NPPD shall maintain its generation, delivery assets, and technology solutions in good/safe/secure working condition, while making investments and upgrades as needed to maintain load serving capability and meet regulatory requirements. 

NPPD must also provide for resilience within its electric supply system. Resilience means that the critical parts of the electric supply system can mitigate, survive, and/or recover from high impact events. Electric supply system resilience is interdependent with the functionally inseparable from electric supply system reliability. 

The District standard shall be to:

  • Meet all customer energy requirements through its generation assets and purchased power portfolio 100% of the time.
  • Maintain generation unit availability at or above targeted benchmarks.
  • Maintain an overall transmission network availability at or above targeted benchmarks.
  • Maintain distribution system reliability at or above targeted benchmarks.
  • Maintain technology solution availability at or above targeted benchmarks.

Cost Competitiveness (BP-SD-04)

Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) is committed to cost competitiveness in service to our wholesale and retail customers.  Being cost competitive over the long term, while considering other District strategic directives, is a key part of the foundation to being the partner-of-choice for customers, both now and in the future.

To achieve cost competitiveness, the District standard shall be to: 

  • Achieve and maintain wholesale rates in the best quartile of the Cooperative Finance Corporation Key Ratio Trend Analysis (CFC KRTA) Ratio 88 “Cost per kWh Purchased” annual survey.
  • Achieve and maintain total retail base rate position among the lowest 15 percent of providers within the EIA (Energy Information Administration).  Total rate= total revenue from all customer classes divided by total kilowatt hours of all customer classes.

Carbon Emission Reductions (BP-SD-05)


Carbon emissions and emissions regulation are a significant business risk for Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) and its customers. NPPD recognizes the importance of balancing affordability, reliability/resilience, and sustainability when addressing the business risks related to carbon emissions and emissions regulations. This policy establishes the Board of Director’s goal for carbon emission reductions that will be used to guide NPPD in determining future generation resource planning options. 

NPPD adopts the goal of achieving “net zero” carbon emissions from NPPD’s generation resources by 2050. This will be achieved by continuing the use of proven, reliable generation until alternative, reliable sources of generation are developed and by using certified offsets, energy efficiency projects, lower or zero carbon emission generation resources, beneficial electrification projects, or other economic and practical technologies that help NPPD meet the adopted goal at costs that are equal to, or lower than, then current resources. 

NPPD Management will report to the Board annually the carbon emissions of generating resources under NPPD “control” on both a total short tons of CO2 emitted and CO2 intensity (lbs./MWh) basis including effects of offsets, etc., as discussed above.  

The Board of Directors may evaluate and reconsider the District’s Carbon Emissions Goal if it is determined that meeting or progressing toward the goal will adversely impact the District’s ability to continue to meet the Board’s strategic directives concerning reliability (BP-SD-03) or cost competitiveness (BP-SD-04).

Customer Experience (BP-SD-06)


Creating value for our customers is key to fulfilling Nebraska Public Power District’s (NPPD) vision and mission. Achieving high levels of customer trust and satisfaction, while providing outstanding customer service and being responsive to customer needs, will lead to NPPD being the ‘partner-of-choice’ for our wholesale and retail customers. 

The Board will ensure that NPPD seeks and obtains feedback from our customers through periodic and regular studies of their experience, and considers that feedback to prioritize strategies, goals, and initiatives to achieve high levels of satisfaction among all customer classes. 

NPPD’s standard is to achieve 90% or better ratings of ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’ in key areas of customer experience, including customer satisfaction, trust, and the quality of customer engagement.

Public Relations (BP-SD-07)


Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) is committed to educating consumers and stakeholders about public power’s business model and benefits including reliability, local control, and cost control. NPPD also promotes its leadership in developing sustainable solutions that maximize efficiencies, improve the environment, and innovate the way we generate and deliver electricity. 

NPPD will be transparent in the development and execution of its policies and operations consistent with sound business practices. 

The District will continuously measure the effectiveness of its communication efforts by using collective data, anecdotal feedback, and relevant surveys. NPPD’s goal is to achieve 93% or higher ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’ public perception ratings in its annual reputation survey.

Economic Development (BP-SD-08)

Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) is committed to promoting economic development in the region to increase the productivity of economic resources; create and enhance employment opportunities; retain, grow, and attract businesses with desirable loads and load profiles; and increase the level of income and quality of life for our customers.   

NPPD will support our wholesale/retail customers, and be a leader in regional economic development by: 

  • Continually striving to know and understand the economic development needs and job creation prospects in our service territory.
  • Aligning economic development activities with regional and state-level development initiatives.
  • Assisting with site development by identifying and marketing sites for large business and industrial customer-owners.
  • Working to retain, grow, and recruit commercial and industrial customers.
  • Promoting innovation and job creation by offering economic development rates and other incentives.

Energy Efficiency (BP-SD-09)

Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) is committed to working in partnership with customers to maximize the value of their energy purchases in a cost-effective manner in order to: 

  • Help customers reduce costs, and improve business’ bottom lines.
  • Provide a service that engages customers in a positive way.
  • Reduce the cost to serve load during peak usage.

NPPD will be a leader in promoting energy efficiency by: 

  • Partnering with our wholesale customers to develop and market cost effective energy efficiency programs, incentives, and services.
  • Being a resource for efficiency information and technology for our wholesale customers.
  • Building relationships with business partners (manufacturers, builders, dealers, etc.) and community colleges.
  • Partnering with the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy and other utilities in Nebraska to promote the efficient use of energy.
  • Taking advantage of state and federal incentives, grants, and other opportunities as available.
  • Educating customers and colleagues about energy efficiency principles and benefits.
  • Offering energy use audits, calculators, information, and recommendations for improving energy usage.

Electrification of the Economy (BP-SD-10)


A safe, reliable, economically-competitive, and sustainable electrical grid is the cornerstone of modern society. A large-scale transformation of society and the economy is underway which will result in ever-greater reliance on electrical technologies. 

The Board recognizes and encourages the continued electrification of large sectors of the economy such as transportation, industry, and residential heating as key to fulfilling Nebraska Public Power District’s (NPPD) vision and mission and be viewed as a leader in Nebraska. NPPD will integrate emerging technologies into its business model, products, and services in a way that balances risk and opportunity to create value for our customers and stakeholders.

Research and Development (BP-SD-11)


Technological change through research, development, and innovation is an important driving force of economic growth and social development which enhances the quality of life for Nebraskans. Innovation is also an important source of long-term competitiveness and is key to delivering customer-valued products and services.   

The Board encourages management to actively pursue investments in research and development in the energy industry that aligns with the District’s strategy, considering both the relative risks and possible benefits to Nebraska Public Power District customers.