Perennial Public Power District is pleased to report that there will be no rate increase in 2016. This is the fourth consecutive year that Perennial customers will be served under the same rates. The current rate schedules were adopted by the board of directors in November of 2012.
Why is it that electric rates can go unchanged for another year?
Approximately 70 cents of every dollar that we collect from you is for the wholesale power that we purchase on your behalf from Nebraska Public Power District. The good news is this year NPPD did not raise their production rates, or in other words the rates in which they use to bill us for their cost of generating electricity at the power plants. In fact, NPPD’s current forecast shows that production rates will not need to increase for the next two or three years. Although in 2016 NPPD did raise the price it charges for the high voltage transmission lines and substations in which they use to deliver energy to us from the power plants, the transmission charges only comprise about 14 percent of our overall wholesale power bill, and these increased costs will not need to be passed on to customers this year. NPPD is projecting that further rate increases will be needed over the next several years to pay for improvements to the transmission system, but hopefully the majority of these increases can also be absorbed by the District.
How does Public Power help keep rates low?
One of the most important differences between Perennial Public Power District and an investor-owned utility company is Perennial is not driven by profit. Investor-owned companies have an objective to return a profit to their shareholders. After all, these shareholders have invested their money in the business. As a publicly owned utility, Perennial exists to serve you. The price you pay for electricity does not include a profit mark-up. This means our focus is on keeping rates low, while providing safe and reliable service to meet your energy needs.
