Merger decision to be made by Spring

The Nebraska Power Review Board concluded its special meeting about the proposed merger of The Central Public Power and Irrigation District and Dawson Public Power District. The group has 60 days to make its final decision of the proposed new entity, Platte River Public Power and Irrigation District.

“The 3-day hearing went well for us. We want to thank the Nebraska Power Review Board for their time to review our proposal,” said Dawson PPD General Manager Gwen Kautz. “This is the right choice for central Nebraska. We look forward to the Nebraska Power Review Board’s decision come Spring.”

Central General Manager Devin Brundage echoed the sentiment and added that “We were very excited to tell the Platte River PPID story to the Nebraska Power Review Board. It is the story of a continued commitment to sustainably serve our agricultural community and economy even more effectively and efficiently, securing our water resources, generating and delivering energy to our customers and ensuring continued delivery of low cost, reliable irrigation water to south central Nebraska for the next 80 years.”

On day one, Platte River PPID’s Board of Directors will be comprised of all the board members from both Central and Dawson PPD. The 23-member board will reduce to 14 members in 2029 over the course of three election cycles. This ensures stability and expertise within the board. There are two representatives within each of the seven subdistricts, keeping geographic representation fair for all customer classes.

It is expected that combining resources will have a realized savings of over $11 million dollars for customers within the first decade of business. The highest demand for electricity generation and irrigation water delivery occurs at the same time. This will save electric customers money and keep central Nebraska generation in the area while enhancing the sustainable delivery of low-cost surface water for irrigation.

Central has irrigation customers in Lincoln, Dawson, Gosper, Phelps and Kearney Counties. They also have board representation from Keith County, where Lake McConaughy and Kingsley Dam are located. Dawson PPD has customers in Lincoln, Dawson, Gosper, Buffalo, Frontier, Sherman and Custer Counties.

In 2020, merger discussions began with both Central and Dawson PPD Boards. An independent consultant was hired to study the potential consolidation. Central and Dawson PPD boards voted to advance through each stage of the study. Both boards were given the option to stop the study at each of the four stages. Information was made available to customers and the public during the process and was an agenda item at every monthly public board meeting. A final vote in favor of the merger was held October 24, 2022.

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