On Friday morning, Nebraska Public Power District CEO Tom Kent held a press briefing to address energy reliability this summer, as well as supply chain issues and inflation.

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation placed Nebraska and other states in the Southwest Power Pool at elevated risk this summer. Tom Kent, CEO of NPPD, said this means power plants across the region are running conservatively.

“This is the time where we need to focus on ensuring those plants and transmission systems are running reliably, and so we’ll scale back maintenance in those times unless it’s absolutely critical,” he said.

Kent said that supply chain issues are also a barrier to doing regular upkeep on energy infrastructure. From machinery lubricant to transformers, Kent said the utility company is using stockpiles and careful planning to keep up regular operations.

“We are seeing, just like any other business, impacts in the supply chain and the ability to get needed resources,” he said.

Regardless, Kent said NPPD is better off than others in the US. He said that current projections indicate they will make it through the summer with little to no difficulty.

“From our perspective, this is a busy time of year, a good time of the year, and this is what we’re designed and set up for. To operate our systems to serve loads during peak times,” he said.

Kent said NDPP is in a good financial position for customers and hopes to keep rates stable as they have for the last several years.

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