Jennifer Branson, retail account manager for Nebraska Public Power District, presented Scottsbluff’s energy report, outlining rates, reliability and NPPD’s relationship with the city. Branson told council members, "PPD collected and remitted $3,247,952.57 in lease payments and $213,787.26 in city sales tax to Scottsbluff in 2024." She said NPPD’s generation mix is 58.3% carbon-free and reminded the council the utility has a net-zero-by-2050 goal.

Branson highlighted local community solar projects, reporting that Scottsbluff 1 and 2 farms produced subscription energy for customers and were fully subscribed. She described energy-efficiency incentives available to residents and businesses and encouraged residents to use NPPD’s mobile app for outage reporting and service updates.

On rates, Branson said the board approved a 2% increase last year and that a projected 3% rate increase for 2026 will be considered by NPPD’s board in November before any final action. Council members asked technical questions about an identified West Side reliability project and whether it can back-feed during storms; Branson said she would refer those technical questions to NPPD operations staff for detailed answers.

What’s next: NPPD will present more detailed information to council or provide staff contacts for technical questions; any 2026 rate change must be approved by the NPPD board.