Business Advantages
Benefits
OPPD’s service area offers an array of advantages that make living, working and doing business here a wonderful and rewarding experience. Our pro-business environment, strong infrastructure, world-class workforce, drive for innovation, and higher education facilities are differentiators for business-location decisions.
Low Rates, High Reliability and Environmentally Sensitive Energy
OPPD customers receive low rates, high reliability, environmentally sensitive energy and excellent customer service. For two consecutive years, OPPD ranked as the #1 Midwest Midsize Utility in Business Customer Satisfaction (J.D. Power and Associates, 2015 and 2016). Since 2015, JD Power and Associates has ranked OPPD as one of the top Midwest Midsize Utilities in Business Customer Satisfaction, giving OPPD the #1 ranking 2 out of 5 years.
Low Rates
OPPD offers competitive rates that beat regional and national averages. In addition, OPPD is committed to no general fixed rate increases through 2021.
OPPD industrial rates are 7% below the national average and commercial rates are 17.3% below the national average.
*West-North Central Region includes Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota & South Dakota
Source: 2019 Energy Information Administration
OPPD is currently evaluating its energy portfolio to add new generation that will include additional renewables and increase OPPD’s renewables to as much as 50% of its generation mix by 2021. Review the Integrated Resource Plan submitted to the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) in Feb. 2017.
Solutions
Large Power - High Voltage Transmission Level - 261
- 161 kV requires at least 20 MW
- 345 kV requires at least 200 MW
- Customer owns its electric substation
- Discount of roughly 5%, based on demand and energy use
- View Rate 261
Large Power - High Voltage Transmission Level - Market Energy 261M
- Customer provides a minimum of 20 MW of new load at 161 kV or at least 200 MW of new load at 345 kV service each month
- Customer owns its electric substation
- Market rate pricing
- View Rate 261M
Economic Development Rate Rider – 490
- The capacity available to consumers under this rider is limited to surplus capacity projected by the District. This rider is currently unavailable.
- OPPD’s Rate Rider 490 provides a discount to qualifying businesses and creates new jobs and investment in the service area.
- Reduced electrical rates for large customers
- Available 3-5 years, plus 3-5 years at OPPD’s current rates
- Fixed or declining block options
Green Sponsorship Rate Rider - 499
- Helps customers meet renewable energy goals
- Provides a “hedge” for future energy concerns
- Customer purchases at least 10,000,000 kWh of energy annually from OPPD
- Rate rider is available on Rate Schedules 232, 240, 245, 250 and 261
- Pricing based on renewable energy contract and Southwest Power Pool market
- View Rate Rider 499
High Reliability
For the past 14 years, OPPD has maintained reliability greater than 99.98%, as measured by the Average Service Availability Index. This beats the average (99.91%) reported among utilities surveyed by the American Public Power Association (APPA).
System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) = Number of Customer Minutes Out ÷ Number of Customers Served. SAIDI is the amount of outage time, in minutes, that was experienced by the average customer in the system.
Average Service Availability Index (ASAI) = Number of Customer Minutes Available ÷ Number of Customer Minutes Served. Simply put, ASAI is the percentage of time the system was available.
Customer Average Interruption Duration Index (CAIDI) = Number of Customer Minutes Interrupted ÷ Number of Customer Out. This is the average interruption duration time for those customers that experience an interruption during the year. It approximates the average length of time required to complete service restoration.
System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI) = Number of Customer Interruptions ÷ Number of Customers Served. This index is the average number of times that a customer is interrupted during a year. It is determined by dividing the total annual number of customers interrupted by the average number of customers served during the year.
Customer Average Interruption Frequency Index (CAIFI) = Number of Sustained Outages* ÷ Number of Customer Affected. This is the average number of interruptions for those customers that experience an interruption during the year.
Momentary Average Interruption Frequency Index (MAIFI) = Number of Non-Sustained Outages ÷ Number of Customer Served. This is the number of non-sustained interruptions that was experienced by the average customer.
* A sustained outage is defined as any outage of duration greater than two minutes. Sustained outages affect SAIDI, CAIDI, SAIFI, CAIFI and ASAI. Non-sustained outages affect MAIFI only.
Transportation and Logistics Advantages:
Being centrally located in the U.S. has several advantages over coastal locations.
- Dual rail access to OPPD’s Arbor Rail Line - OPPD owns 56.4 miles of a former Burlington Northern Santa Fe branch line running east from Lincoln (College View) to OPPD's Nebraska City Power Station. The line connects with Burlington Northern Santa Fe at College View and Union Pacific at Nebraska City. The Arbor Rail Line exhibits a unique opportunity for new and existing businesses as an appropriate place for location or expansion and has potential for many positive effects with Enterprise Zone designation.
- Central location in North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) corridor
- Foreign Trade Zone #19 in Omaha
- Direct flight access - Omaha’s Eppley Airfield offers 150 flights a day to nearly 20 cities across North America, including 17 non-stop cities
- Major transportation access to Interstates 29 and 80
Low Cost of Doing Business
Omaha is a cost leader among U.S. Cities in the Midwest region, with costs more than 6% below the U.S. base.
Source: 2016 KPMG Competitive Alternatives
Critical Core Competencies in Key Industries
- Data Center
- Food Processing
- Manufacturing
- Biotech
- Renewable Energy
- Financial Services
- IT and Data Services
- Health and Medical Services
- Business Services
- Tourism and Hospitality
- Transportation and Logistics
- Call Centers and e-Commerce
Additional Advantages
There are many advantages to locating your business in the Midwest, below are just a few:
- Abundant water supply
- Low risk for natural disasters
- Greater Omaha labor force is more than 750,000 in a 60-mile radius
- Short drive times
- Excellent schools and universities
- 106,000+ college students enrolled across 25+ colleges and universities within a 60-mile radius of our service territory
- Affordable housing/cost of living
- Innovative hospitals and medical centers
- Competitive tax incentives
Rankings
Nebraska
#6 Best State of Education – US News, 2019
#8 Best Economy in America – CNBC, 2020
#10 Best State to Find Job – US News, 2019
#11 Best State for Families – Wallethub, 2021
#11 Best State of Business – Forbes, 2019
#11 Happiest States in America – Wallethub, 2020
Greater Omaha
#2 Fastest Growing Cities for Tech Pros – Zdnet, 2019
#2 Best Midsize City – Best Cities
#5 Best City for Young Professionals – Yahoo Finance, 2020
#5 Good Jobs and Cheap Housing – Investopedia, 2020
#8 Cities with Best Work-Life Balance – Kisi, 2019
#11 Best City to Buy Affordable Family Home – Smartasset, 2020
#14 Cheapest Place to Live – US News, 2020
#16 Most Livable City in the U.S. – Smartasset, 2019
#17 Best City for Millennials to Live In – Business Insider, 2020
#24 Best Cities to Work From Home – Smartasset, 2020
#32 Best City for College Grads – Smartasset, 2020
#40 Best Places to Live – US News, 2020
Fastest Growing Tech Hubs – Uncubed
Papillion Best City to Live in Nebraska – MSN, 2020
Fortune-Ranked Companies
Because of its favorable business climate, the OPPD service area is home to many Fortune and Inc ranked companies’ headquarters.
Fortune 500s
Berkshire Hathaway
Mutual of Omaha
Peter Kiewit Sons’
Union Pacific
Fortune 1,000s
Green Plains Renewable Energy
TD Ameritrade
Valmont Industries
Werner Enterprises
West Corporation
Inc 5000s
City Ventures
North end Teleservices
Muhs Unlimited
Media Spark
Sharm Medical Staffing
Prime Time Healthcare
Dynamo
Carson Group
Meridian Clinical Research
OneStaff Medical
Atlas MedStaff