OPPD leaders provide update on resource planning

OPPD leaders this week provided the utility’s board of directors with an update on the utility’s Integrated System Planning, which OPPD uses to continually plan for, adapt to and enable the needs of its customers and the rapidly transforming electric industry.  

Successful planning ensures adequate energy capacity and a reliable, resilient electrical system, while helping OPPD prepare for, respond to, withstand and recover from nonroutine events. 

“The concept of abundant, available, reliable, affordable and environmentally sensitive generation is profoundly important as our country is experiencing massive electrification,” said OPPD President and CEO Javier Fernandez. 

The board heard updates in these areas: 

• The utility’s year-round supply-side and demand-side resource capacity exceeds forecasted load, in compliance with the resource adequacy and planning reserve margin requirements of the Southwest Power Pool, OPPD’s regional balancing authority. 
• OPPD’s board-approved resources are expected to meet near-term resource needs. However, as demand continues to grow rapidly, OPPD is continually evaluating potential needs and will keep doing so as part of its 2026 Integrated System Plan. 
• The utility’s grid expansion plans demonstrated continued compliance with the federal grid reliability standards. OPPD has successfully completed the Midwest Reliability Organization audit to assure compliance with the grid reliability standards of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. This was a routine audit that occurs every three years. 
• The utility's planning accounts for potential extreme weather events, changes to demand-side and supply-side regional resources, and extended periods of low energy production by variable energy resources. OPPD is always working to harden existing generation assets through winterization and by expanding and modernizing new generation capable of operating at more extreme high and low temperatures, along with units that can run on different types of fuel for added flexibility. 
• The utility provided resource adequacy metrics that quantify the ability of OPPD’s resources to meet its forecasted electric demand. 
• The utility has met its previously established goals for executing contracts for new generation expansion in regard to renewable generation, energy storage, dual-fuel combustion turbines and on-site fuel storage. A demand response goal is progressing slower, partly due to uncertainty related to pending Southwest Power Pool policy changes.

At tonight’s monthly board meeting, directors accepted the Strategic Directive 9: Integrated System Planning monitoring report, which means they find OPPD to be sufficiently in compliance with the directive.   

In other action, directors:   

• Approved the August 2025 financial report, the August 2025 meeting minutes and the September 18, 2025, board meeting agenda. 
• Accepted the monitoring report for Strategic Directive 10: Ethics Monitoring. Acceptance means the board finds the utility to be sufficiently in compliance with the directive.
• Approved board policy revisions to Governance Process 14: Board Expense Reimbursement to reflect desired future practice.
• Approved the Board of Directors’ meeting schedule for 2026.
• Received the monthly President’s Report, available to view at oppd.com/BoardMeeting. 

Next board meetings   

The next all-committees meeting will be held in person Tuesday, October 14, at 10 a.m. at Blue Cross Blue Shield, 1919 Aksarben Dr., as well as virtually via Webex. The meeting link and instructions will be available at OPPD.com/CommitteeAgenda, beginning about 9:45 a.m., depending on the duration of a preceding closed-session meeting, if needed.  

The next monthly board meeting is Thursday, October 16, at 5 p.m., both in person at the Legislative Chamber of the Omaha Civic Center, 1819 Farnam St., as well as virtually via Webex. The public can attend virtually by accessing the meeting link and instructions at OPPD.com/BoardAgenda, beginning at 4:45 p.m.