Assistance Programs

We want to help you and others in the community reduce your energy use, save more on your monthly bills and make your home more comfortable for you and your family. That’s why we’ve created the Energy Efficiency Assistance Program, to help provide assistance for qualified energy efficiency projects in your home.

At no cost to you, this program could help you:
     • Pay less on your monthly utility bills
     • Receive up to $2,000 in home improvements to make your home more energy-efficient
     • Learn effective energy-saving tips that will continue to help you save money
     • Create a more comfortable home for you and your family

How the Program Works

Once you’ve applied for the program and are considered eligible, you will receive a home energy efficiency kit. After that, the process is simple:
     1. First, we start by doing an in-home energy assessment of your home, in order to identify opportunities for energy efficiency upgrades. The home audit takes approximately 3-4 hours to complete and provides an in-depth review of your homes energy usage.
     2. Next, we determine whether or not your home qualifies for up to $2,000 in improvements.

From there, our program contractors, Habitat for Humanity of Omaha and Southeast Nebraska Community Action Partnership (SENCA), will implement the upgrades so you can quickly reduce your energy use and start seeing savings on your monthly bills.

Eligibility

There are only two requirements to be eligible for the Energy Efficiency Assistance Program:
     1. Your household income must be less than 200% of the federal poverty level.
     2. You must own your home and it must be in the OPPD service territory.

How to Apply

To apply for this program, all you have to do is find your county below and make one phone call. We’ll do everything else.

If you live in Douglas, Saunders, Dodge, Washington, Burt or Colfax Counties, contact:
Habitat for Humanity of Omaha (HFHO)
1701 N 24th St, Omaha, NE 68110
(402) 457-5657
Weatherization@habitatomaha.org
habitatomaha.org

If you live in Sarpy, Cass, Otoe, Johnson, Nemaha, Pawnee or Richardson Counties, contact:
Southeast Nebraska Community Action Partnership (SENCA)
802 Fourth Street, Humboldt, NE 68376
(402) 862-2411
gchristiansen@senca.org
senca.org

The OPPD Energy Assistance Program (EAP) provides utility bill assistance to help cover the emergency energy needs of households located within the 13-county OPPD service territory.

EAP assistance funds are distributed to eligible customers through a network of over 30 Community Base Organizations located across OPPD service territory. Applicants receive assistance based on eligibility criteria and availability of funds, with a maximum of $500 in assistance per year.

Success of the EAP depends on community partnerships, donations from generous employees and customers, and other fundraising efforts, with 100% of the contributions going to assist residential customers in need.

How to Apply:

• Apply through a partner agency.
  Locate an agency on the agency finder website https://www.hardshiptools.org/AgencyFinder.aspx or call the 24 hour Agency Finder hotline, 1-888-650-9132 (Automated system based on zip code provided).
• Apply online.
  Visit: https://www.dollarenergy.org/MyApp [dollarenergy.org]
• Apply by phone.
  Call 2-1-1, to apply for funding over the phone through United Way.

Eligibility Requirements:

• Applicant must an OPPD customer
• Household’s gross income must be at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level Guidelines
• Eligible customers are those who are experiencing an acute financial crisis due to a verifiable emergency (illness, death, lay-off, loss of income, etc.)

Required Documentation:

• Photo ID (i.e. state issued ID card, state issued driver's license, passport, etc.)
• Demonstration of financial crisis due to verifiable emergency
• Income verification for the last 30 days
• Copy of OPPD bill

LIHEAP is a federal program that makes financial assistance available to low-income households with immediate energy needs. This program helps families afford the electricity needed to stay warm during the winter, cool in summer and keep the lights on year round.

How to apply for LIHEAP

Go online to ACCESSNebraska at dhhs-access-neb-menu.ne.gov/start or call 402-595-1258 or 1-800-383-4278.

Spanish Translation

You may not realize that 30% of the average OPPD residential bill is fixed, meaning it doesn’t change with the amount of energy you use. You also may not know that for OPPD, 70% of costs are spent on infrastructure, equipment and other expenses that aren’t affected by the amount of energy being consumed.

After a series of rate increases since January 2016, the service charge for residential and small commercial customers is $30 and $33, respectively. There are no plans to increase these amounts at this time. OPPD’s service charge more accurately reflects customer and distribution costs – expenses incurred, no matter how much energy is used. See the Rate Restructuring FAQs for more information.

At OPPD, we understand this restructure will impact some low-use, low-income customers. To help with this transition, OPPD will offer credits to qualifying customers.

* Bill Credit Program will end Dec. 31, 2021.

Credits will be available to customers who are qualified by the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and whose energy use is less than 600 kWh in a month.

If you are already LIHEAP-qualified, there is nothing more to do. Each full month your energy use falls below 600 kWh, you will automatically see a credit on your OPPD bill.

If you have not applied for LIHEAP, call 402-595-1258, outside Omaha 800-383-4278, or apply at Access Nebraska.

To find the application on Access Nebraska website:

• Choose English or Spanish
• Find Printable Forms under Other Useful Links
• Choose the Application for Benefits form (EA-117)
• Once qualified (usually within 30 days), LIHEAP will notify OPPD and you will receive a credit each month your energy use falls below 600 kWh.

Get the convenience of knowing exactly how much your monthly electricity bill will be regardless of the weather by using the Level Payment Plan. You can enroll in this program if you are a customer with an OPPD account that is current and up-to-date with payments.

Program Details

Here’s how the OPPD Level Payment Plan works:

• OPPD projects your monthly energy use based on the last 12 months of usage at the service location you occupy.
• Using this projected usage, your monthly level payment is calculated (including tax). Example: If you spent $840 for electric service over the last 12 months, OPPD would calculate your level payment by dividing $840 by 12 to get $70. Your monthly level payment would be $70.
• Generally, your monthly level payment will be set for 120 days. After this period, your monthly level payment amount will be re-evaluated and adjusted accordingly.
• You will automatically be retained in the Level Payment Plan unless you notify OPPD otherwise.

How to sign up for the Level Payment Program

If you are interested in this program, please call 402-536-4131 or toll-free 1-877-536-4131.