Utilities Section
Newsletter League of Nebraska Municipalities
September 2026
Power Review Board issues decision on apartment complex electric billing arrangement By Lash Chaffin Utilities Section Director Earlier this year, the Nebraska Power Review Board (NPRB) recently brought an enforcement action against an apartment owner (Vecino Natural Bridge) in Omaha. The matter went to a show-cause hearing. On June 8, the NPRB issued its decision finding that the apartment owner was engaged in supplying electricity to its tenants in violation of Neb. Rev. Stat. 70-1011. Neb. Rev. Stat. 70-1011 provides “no supplier shall offer electric service to additional ultimate users outside its service area or construct or acquire a new electric line or extend an existing line into the service area of another supplier for the purpose of furnishing service to ultimate users therein without first applying to the board and receiving approval thereof....” This proceeding originated as a citizen complaint filed with the Board regarding the amount the complainant was charged for electric service while living in a unit of the Muse Omaha Apartment Complex (the “Muse”) and during the course of the preliminary investigation, the NPRB became aware of billing methods of Vecino, the owner of the Muse, that appeared to result in a sale of electricity by Vecino to its tenants. The Muse is a 247-unit residential apartment complex is located in the 1335 L Street Lincoln, NE 68508 (402) 476-2829 info@lonm.org
vicinity of Creighton University and the University of Nebraska-Omaha catering to the college student population. The Muse is in the authorized service area of OPPD. Each unit is separately metered through meters that were installed by OPPD and that are owned, operated, read, and maintained by OPPD. Common areas are likewise separately metered. All accounts associated with the meters at the Muse are in the name of Vecino and not in the names of the tenants occupying the units. Vecino, through a service provider called SimpleBills, paid the utility bills received from OPPD. SimpleBills then invoiced the units not only for electric utility service, but for other utility charges and rent. The charge for electric service to each unit was based exactly on the metering/actual usage determined by OPPD. The NPRB decision then outlined some of the advantages and disadvantages of this system: Advantages • The electric utility has one customer to look to for payment of the monthly utility charges for the whole of the apartment complex; • Remaining student tenants who find that one of their roommates has
abandoned the unit are not stuck with paying the unpaid charges for the absconding roommate. • Move-ins and move-outs are greatly simplified for both the electric utility and the landlord when all meters are under the name of the landlord. Disadvantages • The tenant is not a customer of OPPD and hence cannot avail himself or herself of budget billing or similar programs offered by OPPD to its customers. • Since the tenant is not a customer of OPPD, the tenant has none of the consumer protections afforded by state law to customers of regulated electric utilities. The NPRB then looked to NPRB Guidance Document 12 which states: “The Boards interpretation of Nebraska law is that a violation occurs when a non-utility entity sells electricity to third parties, and the compensation paid by the third party is based on the actual amount of electricity used by the thirdparty customer as measured by an electric meter or similar device. Under such circumstances, the non-utility entity becomes a retail power supplier under Nebraska Continued on page 2 Lash Chaffin Utilities Section Director Jackson Sash Utilities Field Representative
Utilities Section Newsletter
NPRB issues decision Continued from page 1 law, thus subjecting the activity to the Boards jurisdiction. Whether the entity is making a profit from the sale of the electricity is not relevant.” Based on this guidance, the NPRB ruled that the arrangement constituted Vecino and SimpleBills selling electricity to customers and thus were in violation of Neb. Rev. Stat. 70-1011.
September 2026
Data Center Task Force
Authorized by Gov. Jim Pillen’s Executive Order 2617 “Responsible Administration of State Economic Development Incentives Under the ImagiNE Nebraska Act” and overseen by the Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment (DWEE), the Data Center Task Force will help evaluate the impact of data centers on Nebraska’s water resources, power grids, and local infrastructure. In addition to evaluating impacts, the group will work to ensure that county officials have the necessary tools, zoning guidelines, and policy frameworks to manage data center growth effectively. Click here to visit the Data Center Task Force webpage which includes meeting information, resources, background materials, and reports.
65 2026
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Utilities Section Newsletter, Page 2
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Utilities Section Newsletter
September 2026
Safety Culture: What your crew does when no one is watching By Jackson Sash, Utilities Field Rep./ Training Coordinator
Ask 10 utilities whether they take safety seriously and all 10 will say yes. Every one of them should have a safety manual, a training schedule, and likely a sign posted somewhere counting days without an injury. Yet, some crews go for years without a serious incident while others, with nearly identical paperwork, keep having near misses. The difference is usually safety culture: the shared attitudes, habits, and unspoken rules that shape what people actually do on the job. What a safety culture is (and isn’t) Safety culture isn’t the posters on the wall reminding you to be safe, the binder of procedures prioritizing safety, or a slogan like “safety is our number one priority.” These are examples of tools we can use to promote safety. Culture is what happens at 4:45 p.m. on a Friday when a main break call, power outage, or landfill fire occurs. The whole crew is tired, and the shortcut would save 20 minutes. A strong safety culture can help to ensure that
we are not cutting corners in these stressful and tiring situations. A useful test could be when a new hire is watching your experienced operators, what do they learn? If the veteran tests the atmosphere every time, locks out every time, and wears a harness every time, that is the culture. If the veteran skips these important tests because “it’s only a quick job,” that is the culture too, regardless of what your manuals might say. Signs of a healthy culture • People speak up, including newer employees questioning more experienced ones. • Anyone can stop a job when something looks wrong, and no one is punished for it. • Near misses get reported and talked about, not hidden and forgotten. • Supervisors follow the same rules that they expect from the crew. • Safety is part of planning the job, not something that is considered for the first time when we are halfway done with the job. • When something goes wrong, the first question is “what happened?” rather than “who did it?”
Warning signs of a weak safety culture • We have always done it this way: familiarity breeds comfort, and comfort breeds shortcuts. • Production pressure: if crews believe speed is rewarded and caution is tolerated, they will choose speed. • Inconsistent enforcement: rules that apply to some people and not others teach everyone that rules are optional. • Silence after incidents: if close calls and near misses vanish without discussion or follow-up, people learn that reporting is meaningless. • Hazing the new person: teaching new employees to “tough it out” instead of asking questions passes down bad habits. Continued on page 4
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Utilities Section Newsletter
September 2026
Safety Culture Continued from page 3 How to build a strong safety culture 1. Leadership sets the tone. Crews watch what supervisors and managers do, not what they say. Wearing PPE, following entry procedures, and asking about safety before asking about the schedule sends a stronger message than any memo could. 2. Give everyone stop-work authority. Make it explicit that anyone can pause a job over a safety concern and back that up when someone does. The first
time a crew member is criticized for stopping a job, the policy is dead. 3. Make reporting safe and worthwhile. Near-miss reports are free lessons, but only if people trust that reporting will not lead to blame and that something will be done. Close the loop by telling the crew what was changed in response. 4. I n v e s t i n t r a i n i n g a n d mentoring. Training is more than an annual classroom session. Pair new employees with experienced mentors who
model the right way. Give people time to learn new tasks before expecting them to work at full speed. 5. Provide time and resources. It is hard to build a safe culture if the gas monitor is out of calibration, traffic cones are in short supply, or the crew is stretched too thin to follow procedure. Removing those obstacles helps to show that safety is a real priority. 6. Be fair and consistent. Separate honest mistakes from willful violations. Treat honest mistakes Continued on page 5
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Utilities Section Newsletter
September 2026
Safety Culture Continued from page 4 as learning opportunities and address deliberate shortcuts consistently, whoever might be involved. 7. Involve the crew. The people doing the work know where the hazards are. Let them help write procedures, review incidents, and lead tailgate talks. People support what they help build. A note for small systems In a small utility with a handful or less of employees, there may not be a safety department or a full-time safety officer, and that can feel like a disadvantage. Despite this, small crews have a strength: everyone knows everyone, and a respected operator can change a habit across the whole shop. Culture is built by people, not by program size. Try this at your next meeting Ask your crew three questions and listen without defending or correcting:
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• What is one job we do that makes you nervous? • Is there a rule that people h e r e regularly bend, and why? • If you saw a coworker doing something unsafe, how comfortable would you feel saying something? The answers will tell you more about your safety culture than any audit. Pick one thing you hear, fix it, and report it back to the crew. Then do it again next month. Culture changes in small steps, and every step counts.
Snowball Wastewater Conferences scheduled The dates for future “Snowball” Wastewater Conferences are scheduled and contracts are signed with the Kearney Holiday Inn. • Jan. 27-28, 2027 • Jan. 26-27, 2028 • Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 2029 • Jan. 30-31, 2030
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Utilities Section Newsletter
Cybersecurity for utilities By Jackson Sash, Utilities Field Rep./ Training Coordinator
When people hear “cyberattack,” they picture hackers in a movie. While that type of hacking does occur, most attacks on utilities start with something ordinary: a phishing email, a reused password, or a remote connection nobody remembered to turn off. Water, wastewater, electric, gas, and solid waste operations all depend on computers and control systems now, which makes cybersecurity part of the job, even if you’re not an IT person. Why utilities are targets Utilities provide services people can’t do without, and many run small teams with limited IT support. Attackers know that. They don’t need to be sophisticated to cause trouble, because basic weaknesses are often enough. Ransomware can lock up billing systems, and compromised SCADA access can interfere with pumps, chemical feed, or alarms. The encouraging news is that a handful of everyday habits stops a large share of these attacks. The human side of cybersecurity Phishing is the most common way in, so be suspicious of unexpected messages. Watch for urgent requests, unfamiliar senders, surprise attachments, and links that don’t
match where they claim to go. If something seems off, don’t click. Call the sender using a number you already know and let your supervisor or IT contact know about it. Passwords matter just as much. Reusing the same one across accounts means a single breach can unlock everything. An approved password manager or a long passphrase is better than a short, complicated password you have to write on a sticky note. If someone physically breaks in and the password is on your desk, they will have no trouble getting into your system. In addition, never leave the default password on equipment such as routers or cameras since those defaults are publicly listed and the first thing an attacker will try. Turn on multi-factor authentication wherever you can. A second step, such as a code or an app approval, blocks most attacks that rely on stolen passwords. Also avoid sharing logins. A shared operator account makes it impossible to know who did what, and former employees may keep access long after they leave. The technical side of cybersecurity Remote access to SCADA is convenient, but it’s also one of the riskiest connections a utility has. Require multi-factor authentication, use a secure connection, and turn off access that isn’t actively needed. Keep
September 2026
your control network separate from the office network, so a problem with someone’s email doesn't spread to the equipment that runs your plant. Keep software and equipment updated when patches are available, scheduling carefully so you don’t disrupt operations. Back up your important systems regularly, keep at least one copy offline, and test that you can actually restore from it. A backup you’ve never tried is a backup you can’t count on. When someone leaves or changes roles, remove their access promptly, including vendors and contractors who no longer need it. Have a plan Assume that at some point something will go wrong. Know who to call, whether that’s your IT provider, your manager, or your state agency. Keep a printed list of key contacts, because you may not have access to email or files in an emergency. Make sure operators know how to run critical processes manually and make sure everyone knows what unusual behavior looks like. This could be controls that act on their own, screens that suddenly look different, or alarms that don’t make sense. If something looks wrong, report it right away. Like a near miss on the job site, an early report can prevent a much bigger problem, and no one should ever feel embarrassed for speaking up.
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Utilities Section Newsletter
September 2026
2026/2027 Training Calendar Visit our website for a complete list of workshops and conferences. October 2026 Oct. 20..........Water Operator Training Workshop............................ Community & Conference Center, Ainsworth Oct. 21..........Water Operator Training Workshop............................ Fire Station, St. Paul Oct. 22..........Backflow Workshop.................................................... Service Center, Beatrice December 2026 Dec. 8...........Water Operator Training Workshop............................ Joe Hampton Conference Center/LNM, Lincoln Dec. 10.........Water Operator Training Workshop............................ City Hall, Auburn January 2027 Jan. 13-15.....Utilities/Public Works Section Annual Conference.... Embassy Suites, Lincoln Jan. 26..........Water Operator Training Workshop............................ Holiday Inn, Kearney Jan. 27-28.....Snowball Conference.................................................. Holiday Inn, Kearney February 2027 Feb. 9-10......Electric Meter Conference.......................................... Holiday Inn, Kearney Feb. 22-23....Midwinter Conference................................................ Cornhusker Marriott Hotel, Lincoln
2026-27 Utilities Section Executive Board President Gary Thurlow Utility Superintendent Atkinson
2nd Vice President Matt Owens Water & Sewer Supvr. Imperial
Board Member Jeramie Van Leer Utility Superintendent Ord
Board Member Joel Hansen Street & Planning Director Wayne
1st Vice President Sarah Sawin Director of Utilities Kearney
Past President Pat Heath City Administrator Gering
Board Member Ryan Schmitz Utilities Director Grand Island
Ex Officio Member Kyle Svec City Admin./Utilities Supvr. Geneva
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