FAQs

From 2017 to 2021, we held general rates flat. Since then, we’ve made modest adjustments, until last year, when we implemented an average 6.3% increase (8.4% average for residential customers) to begin addressing rising costs. Even with that, our rates remain about 30% below the national average.  

But the landscape has changed dramatically. Costs for materials, labor, and equipment have surged. And starting in 2026, our regional grid operator (Southwest Power Pool) is requiring a 36% winter reserve margin, up from 15%. This  means OPPD must carry 500 MW more capacity just to meet SPP’s requirements. That’s like powering an entire additional small city.  

Additionally, fuel costs have increased, namely natural gas. We must also account for those increases as we plan for the coming year.  

We’ve already cut more than $60 million internally this year. Now, we need to invest to maintain reliability and meet the demands of a growing region.  

We’ve deferred major projects, paused some maintenance and enacted a hiring freeze, hiring for only those roles that are critical to our operations. These were hard decisions, but they reflect our commitment to responsible financial stewardship.   

On average, residential customers will see a 6% increase, or $7 on an average $115 bill.  Commercial customers will see an average increase of 3.7%, and industrial customers will see an average increase of 8.9% These increases include both a general rate increase and a modest increase to our fuel and purchased power adjustment rider. Each customer class has several rates available to them; these increases represent the average of those customer class rates. Some customers may see more or less than these amounts, depending on the rate under which they are billed and their unique usage characteristics.

Executive compensation makes up less than a tenth of a percent of OPPD’s total budget . Eliminating executive pay raises entirely wouldn’t change the proposed rate adjustment.  

OPPD benchmarks compensation against other public power utilities to stay competitive in attracting and retaining experienced leaders. Public power executive salaries are significantly lower than those at investor-owned utilities, where CEO pay can exceed $10-$30 million annually (Source: Energy and Policy Institute). By contrast, OPPD’s CEO currently earns $893,193.  

We value every employee’s contribution, from executives to front-line workers, and we work hard to ensure compensation is fair, consistent and aligned with performance across the organization.  

We use a method called the Cost-of-Service Study. First, we calculate what it takes to run the utility safely and reliably. This includes all costs related to generation and purchased power; transmission and distribution; maintenance and upgrades; customer service and operations; and regulatory and reliability requirements. 

Next, we allocate those costs among different customer groups (residential, commercial and industrial) based on how they use the system. This is called a Cost-of-Service Study, and it looks at how much energy each group uses, when they use it and how much infrastructure is needed to serve them. This ensures each group pays its share, no more and no less. 

The OPPD team develops the plan, and then our publicly elected board reviews and votes on our corporate operating plan and any associated rate changes. The public is invited to review and comment before the board votes on any changes. 

For more information on how rates are set, click here.

We’re looking at all sources of generation. But building any generation, renewable or conventional, takes years. We need all available sources to meet demand now.  

Learn more about our Integrated System Plan.

We’re looking at all sources of generation. But building any generation, conventional or renewable, takes years. We need all available sources to meet demand now.  

Learn more about our Integrated System Plan.

We’ve been planning and building for years, and the pace of growth, cost pressures and increases in required reserve margins have accelerated faster than anyone expected. We’re adapting quickly and responsibly. 

No. Though we would like to invest more in both areas, we’ve prioritized investments that directly support safe, reliable service.   

It’s true that rapid load growth, including from large users like data centers, makes our required planning reserve margin bigger. The more our system grows, the more capacity we need to maintain.   

However, it’s important to understand that the reserve margin is a percentage, not a fixed number. Even without data centers, we’d still be required to carry more capacity than in the past.  

The new reserve margin number is about reliability, not just growth. It’s a response to extreme weather events and potential grid instability, not just what’s happening in our service area.  

Yes, some of our largest industrial customers, including the large data centers, will see a higher rate increase in 2026 compared to residential customers 

This is driven by our cost-of-service study, which allocates costs based on how customers use the system. With new generation stations like Turtle Creek and Standing Bear Lake now online, a larger share of costs are being assigned to generation. Because large industrial customers use a significant amount of energy and place high, consistent demand on the system, they are allocated more of those generation-related costs.  

This approach ensures fairness and aligns with industry best practices. Customers pay based on the costs they incur. It also reflects our commitment to maintaining reliability and affordability for all customer classes. 

The retirement of Units 1-3 and the fuel conversion of Units 4-5 at North Omaha Station (NOS) were anticipated around 2026. The rate increase in the 2026 Corporate Operating Plan reflects plans and conditions supporting that goal over that time period, rather than supporting post-transition plans and conditions.  Therefore, an extension of current operations at North Omaha Station would not affect rates for 2026.  However, if NOS operations are extended, it would result in a projected annual rate increase mitigation of 1-3%.  

OPPD’s rates are established based on an industry-standard, cost-of-service study. Costs are allocated to customer categories based on how much they contribute to OPPD’s costs. The degree of impact of the rate adjustment varies due to the costs each customer class incurs. OPPD has proposed average increases of 3.7% for commercial customers and an average of 8.9% industrial customers for 2026. 

OPPD currently offers 2 rates for commercial customers and 2 for industrial. Starting in 2027, OPPD will be implementing minimum and maximum demand limits on our commercial and industrial rates to more accurately recover the cost to serve customers based on how they use the system. And OPPD is adjusting the demand threshold for rates within the commercial and industrial customer class, to align OPPD’s commercial and industrial customer class rates with industry best practices. These changes will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027. The adjustment will redefine eligibility for core rate offerings within this customer class by identifying firm usage thresholds.  

The new rates will be effective January 1, 2027 and will be approved by the board with the 2026 Corporate Operating Plan and Rate Action. Making this adjustment will more equitably distribute cost recovery to those customers at certain usage levels. This change will ensure customers with similar usage characteristics are in the same customer class.   

New rate classifications will use adjusted demand thresholds based on usage during a four-month period in the summer of 2026. By reconfiguring these rates, OPPD will better align customers with those who have similar usage.