winter 2012
Inside A Healthy Approach to Energy Savings ..... 4 The University of Nebraska Medical Center and The Nebraska Medical Center are developing an energy-efficient campus worthy of national notoriety.
Taking Care of Business Customers ......... 12 In an effort to increase efficiency and customer satisfaction, OPPD has enhanced call center service for business customers.
Watt’s Up With the Bulb Phaseout? ........ 14 Manufacturers can no longer make standard 100-watt incandescent lightbulbs. This is the first step in a three-year phaseout of the energy inefficient bulbs, but there are alternatives available.
Ideas Magazine Ideas is published by Omaha Public Power District for its commercial and industrial customers. The magazine promotes the efficient use of energy and provides information about new technology in the energy industry.
Monitoring Impact of EPA Regulations .... 18 How will all the regulations being proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) impact operations and, more importantly, ratepayers?
Eleven! ......back cover OPPD has been honored for residential customer satisfaction by J.D. Power and Associates for the 11th consecutive year, based on results of its 2011 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study.
Editor/Designer Paula Lukowski OPPD, 444 S. 16th St. Mall, 3EP/EP1 Omaha, NE 68102-2247 plukowski@oppd.com Creative Director Joe Comstock Contributors Chris Cobbs Althea Pietsch Terry Zank Photography Larry Larson
Sharon Jefferson Laurie Zagurski
Django Greenblatt-Seay
ENERGY STAR OPPD is a proud ENERGY STAR partner. ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, helping consumers save money and protect the environment through energy-efficient products and practices.
About OPPD Omaha Public Power District is a publicly owned utility that serves more than 346,000 customers in 13 counties in southeastern Nebraska. OPPD’s commercial and industrial rates are consistently below the national average. For more information on OPPD, please visit oppd.com.
Flood Fight is One for the History Books The flood of 2011 clearly made its marks along the Missouri River banks from Montana to Missouri, and the story of how the flood was fought will be told for decades to come. “This was as close to being at war as we could ever be,” said Gary Gates, OPPD CEO and president. “We were at war with the river. We had people doing physical activity, and people on the front lines making sacrifices. We had a supply group and a strategy group, and others were coordinating with cities, counties, customers and other entities. “As CEO, I felt like a general at times,” Gary said. “We had an incredible amount of work to get done. I was asking so much of people, and they were giving it. I felt proud, but incredibly responsible for their welfare and for the welfare of our customers.” Too much water In more than a century of record-keeping, the Missouri River had never coped with more water than it did this past spring, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. To relieve pressure caused by historic late-May rainfalls and abundant snowmelt, the corps had to increase releases from Gavins Point Dam, located on the river four miles south of Yankton, S.D., from mid-June through mid-August. There was nowhere for all that extra water to go but over the river banks and onto property owners’ land. That meant historic flooding at OPPD’s three baseload power plants along the river, and at and around critical substations and transmission and distribution lines nearby. OPPD wasted no time fortifying its more than $3 billion in assets that were in harm’s way and ensuring that electricity continued to flow to its more than 346,000 customers. • Employees and contractors performed a wide array of flood-protection tasks. • OPPD implemented its Corporate Incident Command team in early June to coordinate communication and resources across the company and to help prioritize issues. • In August, OPPD set up a Business Continuity Flood Recovery Team to oversee and coordinate the flood-recovery phase. OPPD spent more than $76 million in costs related to the flooding through November, according to Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Edward Easterlin. These costs include floodprotection measures and replacement power. Balancing Act “The balancing act of managing a flood and day-to-day operations required well-orchestrated planning and communication between senior managers and their division managers, managers and employees in their business units,” said Gary. Work groups across the utility found themselves prioritizing work, and at times, accomplishing feats that under normal circumstances would have taken much longer. “Flood-protection efforts worked well, and so have our ongoing flood-recovery efforts,”said Gary. “Employees pulled together.“
OPPD fortified Fort Calhoun Station and protected the health and safety of the public.
A considerable amount of work was done to keep coal deliveries coming. At Nebraska City Station, railroad tracks were raised more than 5 feet in some sections.
OPPD ideas/ winter 2012 3
A Healthy Approach to Energy Savings With a mix of stately traditional and dynamic new facilities, UNMC and The Nebraska Medical Center are developing an energy-efficient campus worthy of national notoriety. The University of Nebraska Medical Center and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, are wellknown world-wide for many things: • UNMC’s primary care, research, and rural medicine are among the very best in the nation, according to the 2012 U.S. News & World Report rankings. • Nearly half of Nebraska’s physicians, dental professionals, pharmacists, bachelor-prepared nurses and allied health professionals have graduated from UNMC. • J.D. Power and Associates has designated The Nebraska Medical Center as a Distinguished Hospital for Service Excellence for five consecutive years. 4 OPPD ideas/ winter 2012
The list goes on and on, but Omaha Public Power District adds excellence in energy management to that list for pursuing the most efficient and economical ways to operate facilities on the diverse campus. In their quest to facilitate a high
level of quality education and health care, the Board of Regents, Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., and a host of others have focused on the facilities wherein all of this work takes place – 5 million square feet of healthcare,
education and research facilities. Proof of this commitChancellor Harold ment to M. Maurer, M.D. efficient energy management has come in the form of incentive checks from OPPD the past few years. UNMC received $60,000 in 2010 and $38,200 in 2011 from OPPD’s Innovative Energy Efficiency Project Incentive Pilot Program, which provides incentives for both
energy studies and implementation projects. “We established a goal of lowering our energy bill by 25 percent over five years, from 2010 to 2015,” said Ken Hansen, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Facilities Management and Planning. “Our group is passionate about saving the university money, and we’re on our way to achieving the goal.” Ken joined UNMC in 2005 after a 29-year career with OPPD, where he gained extensive experience in
In December, UNMC received a $38,200 incentive check from OPPD. Pictured are UNMC’s Ken Hansen, left, and OPPD Vice President Tim Burke.
“We established a goal of lowering our energy bill by 25 percent over five years, from 2010 to 2015.” – Ken Hansen Assistant Vice Chancellor for Facilities Management and Planning UNMC’s Ken Hansen, left, and OPPD’s Steve Sauer discuss upgrades that were completed at the Sorrell Center for Health Science Education. OPPD ideas/ winter 2012 5
6 OPPD ideas/ winter 2012
energy and technology solutions, as well as in managing construction activities. He and his team of architects, engineers, facility operations and maintenance staff and support personnel manage three utility plants that serve the dynamic campus, which is a small city in itself. The combined campus is located in mid-town Omaha in an area from Leavenworth to Farnam streets and Saddle Creek Road to 38th Avenue. Energy Partners UNMC/The Nebraska Medical Center has partnered with OPPD on a number of projects that have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy costs over the past decade. “They are leaders and extremely conscious about energy efficiency and energy savings,” said OPPD Account Executive Steve Sauer. “UNMC and The Nebraska Medical Center have a concentration on this from top to bottom. They are very good stewards of the environment. “They are aggressive and proactive, even when it comes to energy usage during peak times. It’s not uncommon for them to initiate calls, asking if OPPD wants them to shed some load when energy demand is at its highest. Usually, OPPD initiates these requests to customers,” Steve said. “The last two years, we The Sorrell Center, one of the most advanced medical education buildings in the country, was completed in June 2008.
have invested millions of dollars in our facilities to make improvements,” said Ken. “We received $33 million from the state to renovate Bennett Hall, Poynter Hall and the Eppley Cancer Institute, with another $8 million from the National Institute of Health using 2009 ARRA funds. UNMC also received additional federal stimulus money in 2009 and 2012 to upgrade several clinical and research facilities on campus.” ECO 24/7 is one program that has benefitted UNMC/
“They are very good stewards and extremely conscious about energy efficiency and energy savings. UNMC and The Nebraska Medical Center have a concentration on this from top to bottom.” – Steve Sauer OPPD Account Executive The Nebraska Medical Center. A combined effort between OPPD and OPPD’s subcontractor Bes-Tech (Building Energy Solutions and Technologies), ECO 24/7 implements measures to optimize energy use. A building owner can reduce energy costs by up to 40 percent, with a reasonable payback period. During 2010 and 2011, UNMC completed multiple ECO 24/7 projects, including implementation in University Tower, Durham OPPD ideas/ winter 2012 7
OPPD Program Offers Incentives to Customers OPPD offers its commercial and industrial customers another reason to improve energy efficiency for their existing buildings. The IEEP (Innovative Energy Efficiency Project) Incentive Pilot Program provides incentives for both energy studies and implementation projects. The IEEP is designed to encourage the use of innovative energy efficiency solutions to save energy, and improve comfort in existing commercial and industrial buildings. An Energy Study incentive for 50 percent of the study cost (not to exceed amount of $10,000) is offered as the first phase of the process. After the Energy Study is complete, the incentive will be paid to the customer provided an IEEP Implementation Agreement has been committed to and OPPD has given pre-approval of the project. The IEEP implementation incentive will be $400 per actual kW of peak demand reduction. There is a limit of one IEEP incentive per facility, per calendar year.
AHU total fan power comparison of before and after ECO 24/7 measures. Post ECO 24/7 results show improved performance.
Outpatient Center, a central utilities plant renovation and campus plant operational optimization study, and new building design reviews, including the Michael F. Sorrell Center for Health Science Education. “We are having amazing results in the University Tower, which is an older facility,” Ken said. Improvements to the University Tower and the Durham Outpatient Center were combined for an ECO 24/7 project that is partially complete and is scheduled to be finished in 2012. “These facilities add up to nearly 1 million square feet, and they were big energy users, accounting for a large percent of our energy costs,” Ken said. “We were paying about $4 per square foot to heat and cool them. Our goal is to cut that in half when the project is complete.” Small Adjustments, Big Impact An ECO 24/7 project at the Sorrell Center was completed in 2011, resulting in annual chilled water savings of 71 percent, steam
8 OPPD ideas/ winter 2012
savings of 46 percent and fan power of 66 percent (see chart above). The estimated annual utility cost savings is $77,000, according to Steve. In addition, the project should pay for itself in less than two years, once the incentive is factored in. The Sorrell Center, one of the most advanced medical education buildings in the country, was completed in June 2008. The 134,000-square-foot center contains sophisticated technology, such as virtual microscopy, video walls, wireless networks, in-room recording systems, remote management controls for audio visual equipment and Web interfaces, SmartboardTM annotation systems and digital signage. Technology changes rapidly, and this ECO 24/7 project enabled UNMC to improve on an already energy-efficient facility. The Sorrell Center is LEEDcertified (Basic Level). LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally recognized green-building certification continued on page 10
Medical professionals and patients both benefit from the many energy-management steps that have been taken in campus facilities.
Behind-the-Scene Energy Management Efforts Pay Off for Students, Staff and Patients Students and staff at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and The Nebraska Medical Center may not realize the great care taken to operate campus buildings so they are energy efficient and comfortable. But they benefit greatly from it. This strategic and coordinated effort, by all means, is meant to provide topnotch facilities for the important life-altering, lifesaving work that is being done within the walls of the many buildings. “UNMC and The Nebraska Medical Center are committed to saving energy through improved energy management, but not at the cost of a suboptimal work environment,” said Christopher J. Kratochvil, M.D., Assistant Vice Chancellor for Clinical Research and Chief Medi-
cal Officer, UNeHealth, at UNMC. “Through collaborations between OPPD, The Nebraska Medical Center, and UNMC, we have been able to improve efficiencies without negatively impacting our patient care, teaching or research facilities. This partnership has clearly been a success on multiple levels, and one that will be important to maintain as our campus continues to grow.” Christopher Hasiak, M.D., a 2011 UNMC graduate, is currently doing a residency in internal medicine at The Nebraska Medical Center. “I didn’t really think about it at the time, but reflecting back, the settings were comfortable and very conducive to learning,” said Dr. Hasiak. The Sorrell Center opened when Dr. Hasiak was a second-year student.
“The Sorrell Center sets UNMC apart from most medical schools,” said Dr. Hasiak, who will focus on Radiology the next Christopher four years. Kratochvil, M.D. “Everything was brand new, and it offered a great learning atmosphere with all of the state-of-the art technology. “This behindthe-scene Christopher work increases the Hasiak, M.D. sense of pride I have in these facilities,” he said. “It saves money for taxpayers, and it may even help lower tuition and the cost of patient care.” OPPD ideas/ winter 2012 9
“The Sorrell Center is
system. LEED verifies a facility was designed and built to operated at a high level improve energy and water already, but we were able efficiency, reduce carbon dioxto make adjustments to ide emissions, improve indoor environmental quality, and go above and beyond, demonstrate good stewardship improving technology all of resources. Adjustments were made to the way down to room the air-handling units, hot water system, chilled water level.” system and 140 variable– Ken Hansen volume terminal boxes. These Assistant Vice Chancellor for Facilities Management ECO 24/7 measures are estimated to save 1,096 megaand Planning watt-hours per year of electricity consumption and a total of 30,780 therms per year of gas consumption. Also, an average demand savings was calculated to be 95.5 kilowatts. “The Sorrell Center is operated at a high level already, but we were able to make adjustments to go above and beyond, improving technology all the way down to room level,” said Ken.
10 OPPD ideas/winter 2012
Equipment and technology that operates better and lasts longer requires less maintenance. “Maintenance-savings are something that you don’t see on paper, but they make a big difference,” Ken added. “These improvements make sense on so many levels. And even though we have made great headway, we have a long way to go,” Ken said. “Our administration is forward-thinking, but it has been key to have the strategic plan and funding to go along with it.” Hope Tower, situated at the highest point of the Ruth and Bill Scott Student Plaza at UNMC, serves as a bright symbol for students, staff and patients at the medical campus. Standing 120-feet tall, the tower combines stainless steel and natural light to embody UNMC’s scientific character and the transient qualities of Nebraska’s skies.
Previous UNMC Energy-Saving Projects Electric Boiler Project. As UNMC embarked on aggressive campus expansion in the mid-2000s, it showed commitment to making smart energy decisions with the electric boiler project in 2007. UNMC partnered with OPPD to find a solution to its increased steam production needs and escalating operating costs. At the time, the medical center’s boilers operated solely on natural gas and fuel oil. In 2006, fuel costs rose 50 percent, and the four years before that each saw substantial increases. With the 140,000 pounds per hour of steam demand expected to increase by 60,000 pounds per hour, UNMC personnel sought to further diversify their steam production energy sources. From left, UNMC’s Ken Hansen and Nick Combs, and UNMC installed two large-electrode OPPD’s Steve Sauer with the electric boilers. high-voltage boilers, giving them a mix of 25 percent electric and 75 percent natural gas or fuel-oilfired steam production capacity. Because of their efficiency, UNMC offset gas costs and lowered its cost to produce steam. Lighting Improvements. Lighting retrofits have reduced energy and cut maintenance costs. These also have produced better, crisper and brighter color with more uniform illumination for the work and learning environments. Lighting retrofits may be the least capital intensive upgrade to save energy, with attractive payback periods, according to OPPD’s Dave Tallon, senior field engineer. For example, in 2005, lighting retrofits were done in three buildings – Eppley Science Hall, a research facility; UNMC College of Nursing; and UNMC College of Pharmacy – that had been built in the 1970s. The buildings weren’t slated for renovations, but vintage lighting (T-12 fluorescent lamps Good lighting is essential for performing vital cancer with magnetic core ballasts) used more research in the Eppley Science Hall. energy and provided less light than the replacements offered. With the retrofit, 2,515 fixtures were installed in the buildings, most of them energy-efficient T-8 linear lamps with electronic ballasts. Occupancy sensors also were installed in the restrooms. OPPD ideas/ winter 2012 11
Austin Martinez of Customer Care Services helps an OPPD customer, working from the call center.
Taking Care of Business Customers In an effort to increase efficiency and customer satisfaction, OPPD has enhanced call center service for business customers. OPPD serves more than 346,000 customers and is constantly striving to provide them with exceptional customer service. While serving that many people with a limited number of customer care representatives can be challenging, OPPD’s customer care center has consistently risen to that challenge to provide highquality customer service. Last year, OPPD implemented the new Business Solutions Center, a call center dedicated specifically to business customers, which has received great reviews from customers and employees alike. “Launching a Business Solutions Center has been 12 OPPD ideas/winter 2012
a recurring topic for many years,” said Jennifer Johnston, manager of Customer Care Services in Customer Service Operations. “Recently, J.D. Power and Associates conducted a study with findings that suggested customer satisfaction could be increased with a call center specifically for business customers. That’s when we decided to implement the program.” The Business Solutions Center was rolled out in January 2011. The center is made up of specific customer care representatives who field the majority of business calls. Shortly after the Business Solutions Center was implemented,
OPPD’s business customers received a letter introducing these OPPD representatives. “We wanted our business customers to be able to put a face with the voice on the other end of the line,” said Jennifer.
Personal Service This personalized service approach has not gone unnoticed. “I think customers feel a sense of security in having specific representatives to talk to,” said Deb Mitchell, customer care representative. “They seem to appreciate the familiarity of working with a specific person. It’s nice for us, too, because we get to know them and, as a result, have a better understanding of their needs.”
Faster Response While research on the call center’s effect on customer satisfaction has not yet been completed, employees are optimistic about the potential results. The new center has resulted in customers experiencing shorter wait times and higher rates of problem-resolution the first time they call. “All these factors should result in higher customer satisfaction. That is what we’re hoping to see,” said Nitin Gambhir, customer care specialist. These call center representatives do not just serve external customers, though. “As a business call center representative, I also serve internal customers,” said Deb. “Account executives, who handle these large business customers, can direct them to us, and we can provide them with billing information, account information and much more.”
appreciate the respect of their time. “Some are also facing challenges that come along with setting up a new business. These startup businesses can often be a financial burden for our customers, and we want to be there to help them with that challenge,” she added. Business Solutions Center representatives serve as partners and educators to these customers, helping them understand different utility options and products and services available to them. “We are building partnerships with our business customers,” said Deb. “And they are all relationships we want to continue longterm.”
The Business Solutions Center is dedicated to business customers and is available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Representatives provide assistance on a variety of items including: • Setting up a new account • Transferring locations • Updating account information • Providing bill payment options • Assisting with metering questions • Answering rate-related questions Contact the Business Solutions Center at 402-536-4131 or toll free at 877-536-4131. The automated system will prompt you to choose the business customer option.
Wide Array The Business Solutions Center provides assistance on a variety of issues, including setting up new accounts, transferring locations, comparing rate options and more. The center’s representatives helped develop a list of frequently asked questions, checklists and instructions for future employees who may handle these business calls. “Business customers are often dealing with many challenges and have unique needs that need to be met,” said Deb. “They’re often rushed or multi-tasking and
Customer Care Services receives about 56,000 calls each month. About 2,000 of those calls are from business customers. Deanna Huff talks with customers. OPPD ideas/ winter 2012 13
Watt’s up with the Bulb Phaseout?
14 OPPD ideas/winter 2012
Manufacturers can no longer make standard 100-watt incandescent lightbulbs. This is the first step in a three-year phaseout of the energy inefficient bulbs, but there are alternatives available. New Year’s shopping list: • Five pounds of deli meat • Two pounds of cheese • Four boxes of crackers • Six bags of chips • Three bottles of wine • 50 four-packs of 100-watt lightbulbs Okay, so the lightbulbs probably didn’t make your list, but some people did stock up on 100W bulbs in advance of the phaseout. You may still find some standard 100W incandescents until retailers sell out of them, but manufacturers are not allowed to produce them starting Jan. 1. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
includes a gradual phase-out of standard incandescents, as follows. • Jan. 1, 2012: 100W • Jan. 1, 2013: 75W • Jan. 1, 2014: 60W & 40W The 2007 federal law requires manufacturers to meet gradually increasing standards for the efficacy– lumens per watt of incandescent bulbs, noted Dave Tallon, senior field engineer in Customer Sales & Service. Lumens are the amount of
light visible produced by a lighting source. In mid-December, Congress passed a spending bill that doesn’t actually amend the 2007 law, but it does prohibit the administration from spending any more money to carry out the lightbulb standards, which amounts to at least a temporary reprieve. Nonetheless, greater efficiencies in lighting are becoming more mainstream with costs on new technology coming down rapidly. “Moving away from standard incandescent makes sense in the vast majority
Dave Tallon, senior field engineer, is a resident lighting expert.
OPPD ideas/winter 2012 15
of applications and remain good for the environment and also the pocketbook for the consumer,” Dave said. “About 85 to 90 percent of the energy consumed by a traditional incandescent is given off as heat,” Dave explained. “The bulb design has not changed dramatically since Edison perfected it for the mass market in 1879.” Dave said manufacturers have begun producing general-purpose high-efficiency incandescent (HEI) bulbs that meet the new efficacy standards. As was the case with compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs), it will take a few years for the price of HEIs to come down as they catch on with consumers
CFLs
and are produced in larger quantities. Meanwhile, there’s a growing variety of CFLs and light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs available today that meet the new standards. The price of LED bulbs is coming down very rapidly, Dave said. “When deciding which type of lightbulb to buy, it’s important to match the bulb with how and where you’re going to use it,” he said. The chart below will help you find the right bulb for various applications. There are numerous exceptions to the incandescent phase-out, including three-way bulbs, appliance bulbs, colored bulbs, plant lights, bug lights and shatter-resistant bulbs.
Cost
Avg. Rated Life (hours)
Reach Full Brightness
Recommended Uses
Low - Med.
8,000
60 seconds; Newer kinds 15 seconds
Everywhere, except cold environments
24,000 – 30,000
30 seconds when cold
Kitchen, laundry, shop, garage
Fluorescent tubes Med. LEDs
High
35,000
Instantly
Recessed can lights, track fixtures, exterior fixtures, general purpose, table lamps
Halogens/ PAR Halogen
Med.
4,000 - 6,000
Instantly
Recessed cans, exterior flood, dimming applications, general purpose, track
16 OPPD ideas/winter 2012
This watt meter measures the power consumed by lightbulbs.
Bright Idea Notes Contain small amount of mercury; deal w/broken bulbs properly
Use 15-20% less energy than CFLs and last longer
A true incandescent, crisp, defined pattern
The Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored a competition for manufacturers to develop a viable LED product that could replace the traditional, general purpose 60-watt A19-style lightbulb. The competition guidelines asked that the product use less than 10 watts of input power and produce a light output of 900 lumens. The DOE’s $1,000,000 “L Prize” winner was the Philip’s Endura LED. This LED is instant on, fully dimmable and has a rated life of 25,000 hours. Still costly, a version of this award-winning product is available to residential consumers at just over $35 per bulb.
OPPD ideas/winter 2012 17
OPPD Continues to Monitor Impacts of EPA Regulations Much has changed but much remains the same regarding the environmental regulations and their impacts on OPPD facilities. “It continues to be a volatile and changing landscape regarding environmental regulations and how and when they will impact OPPD,” said Russ Baker, Manager of Environmental and Regulatory Affairs. “There is every reason to believe that new regulations will continue to be proposed and the impact could be very expensive for OPPD and every other utility who operates coal-burning plants,” Russ added. The new rule known as the Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), which was issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this past July, was ordered by the courts to be put on hold. CSAPR calls for drastic cuts of allowable emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. The start date for CSAPR was Jan. 1, 2012. OPPD, like other utilities, faced complying with those rules. However, OPPD was not included in the original EPA ruling. Most states were given several years to develop a compliance strategy, and OPPD was not. Since Nebraska became part of the CSAPR ruling, it was necessary to plan for the eventuality that the 18 OPPD ideas/winter 2012
new standards would take effect and that annual limits would be set for emissions. The decision in late December by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to stay the implementation of CSAPR did not rescind the new regulations. The decision only delayed implementation pending a judicial review in April 2012. It is undetermined what that outcome will be and who, if any, will need to comply with the rule as it was written prior to the judicial review. OPPD continues to study the impact of the stay of implementation of the CSAPR or whether to reduce the rate increase passed by the board in December, as done by at least one other Nebraska utility. OPPD already has spent some of the money designed for implementation of the CSAPR, primarily on ultra low-sulfur coal. Additionally, the district remains uncertain of the ultimate outcome of the current court challenge. It is possible that OPPD and other Nebraska utilities will remain subject to CSAPR in some form or that some aspects of it will still be placed into effect at the end of judicial proceedings. OPPD believes it has a responsibility to continue to plan for the future and to be in a position where it can remain financially stable
and provide safe reliable generation to our customers. Russ notes there Russ Baker are other regulations on the horizon that have the potential to affect the operation of our power plants. One of the major new regulations would be a change in the emission standards for existing coal-fired units. The emissions targeted for limits include non-mercury metal hazardous air pollutants, acid gas hazardous air pollutants (such as hydrogen chloride) and mercury. This new rule was issued in December and existing affected units are required to comply no later than three years after the date of the final rule’s publication by the EPA, which is expected in February. An additional year to comply may be granted to the state of Nebraska. The types of emission controls necessary to meet these limits could include costly sulfur dioxide scrubbers and bag houses for particulates. Another example is the 316(b) Fish Protection Rule. The proposed rule would require changes in “cooling water intake structures” considered vital to the operation of coal, gas and nuclear steam-electric generating facilities, as well
as a wide range of manufacturing and industrial facilities. As proposed by the rule, monitoring of the intakes will be required for several years and the state of Nebraska will determine what the best technology is to minimize the impacts to aquatic animals. The final rule is expected by summer of 2012. And lastly, there continues to be talk of a rule to address coal combustion by-products, fly and bottom ash. A change to the regulation has been proposed, but
no time line was given on when or if the rule would be implemented. The driver behind these changes is an incident that occurred in 2008 in Tennessee where a failure in an ash impoundment dike released ash slurry across 300 acres of land, including dozens of residential homes. EPA is targeting these changes, primarily toward wet-ash handling facilities, although all facilities would ultimately have some impact. OPPD facilities use dry-ash handling and storage. As a result, an inci-
dent such as the one which occurred in Tennessee could never occur at an OPPD facility. Russ says these are just a few of the items that OPPD must continue to study and analyze. “We need to look at all of our options to determine the best compliance strategy for the Omaha Public Power District,” Russ said. “Right now, we are still trying to decide what that will be and how much it will eventually cost.”
Presorted Standard U.S. Postage 444 South 16th Street Mall Omaha, Nebraska 68102-2247
PAID Omaha, NE Permit 97
Address Service Requested
OPPD Wins 11th Straight J.D. Power Award OPPD has been honored for residential customer satisfaction by J.D. Power and Associates for the 11th consecutive year, based on results of its 2011 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Studysm. OPPD is the only midsize utility to receive this award 11 years in a row. In its news release, J.D. Power and Associates said, “Omaha Public Power District ranks highest among midsize utility companies in the Midwest region.” The firm defines midsize utilities as those serving between 125,000 and 499,999 residential customers. The release said the firm’s study measures customer satisfaction with electric utility companies by examining the following six key factors. OPPD ranks first in its segment in all six categories: power quality and reliability, price, billing and payment, corporate citizenship, communications and customer service.