BEATRICE – Not many communities can claim no increases in electric charges for customers over a stretch of eight years….and that trend could continue in the City of Beatrice, due to structural changes involving where the city purchases its electrical power.


The city’s Electric Department provided a presentation to the mayor and city council Monday night, about the fifteen-member department and the work it is doing.  Electric Superintendent Pat Feist said the city’s retail customers have not seen a retail rate increase since 2015.


"Looking forward with the contracts we have in place with all of our energy suppliers...unless anything major would happen, we don't see any rate increases going forward. We have everything locked in until 2030, at this point in time. We're hoping to maintain those rates, at least through 2030."


The city began a transition to a new wholesale electric supplier…and that transition has been completed. A decision not to renew a long-term contract with no assurance of steady rates with Nebraska Public Power District, led the city to look at other possible sources.


"Shortly before that, Nebraska Public Power had joined the Southwest Power Pool...which is a regional transmission authority that manages all of the transmission lines in the central part of the United States. So, that gave us opportunities to go out and look for other power suppliers, basically anywhere within that footprint. We found some very beneficial rates that we're able to lock in until 2030...with no increases from them. So, that's how we've been able to hold things steady."


Despite an increase in material costs, Feist said there’s still confidence there won’t be an upward impact on rates.  "A lot of our industrial customers call us on a yearly basis, when they're forecasting their budgets. They'll ask us what we think rates are going to do for the next year...one to two years, sometimes three. When we can tell them we're not going to raise rates for that time frame, it helps them out a lot...and it's just very beneficial, all the way around."


Feist said there were some questions about switching wholesale suppliers in the beginning, but the switch has worked out well.


As for current projects, Feist said crews are working on rebuilding overhead lines on Arthur Street, including service connections. A rebuild of a line along West Court Street is underway….along with some underground electric projects.


"One is a secondary feed out to the Northgate area...which is the Beatrice Community Hospital. There's a dialysis treatment center out there, also. They are currently on just a single line. We feel that we need to have a secondary way to feed that area, just with the facilities that are out there. We want to make sure we can maintain power to them, as best as possible."


The department will soon start a primary electric extension to the new Beatrice Elementary School site….and is rebuilding a substation at 28th and Lincoln Streets….where the area has had an upgrade to 12.5 kilovolts.


The city has ten substations, 110 miles of overhead lines and 90 miles of underground lines. In recent years, an automated metering infrastructure system was installed that helps detect faults or storm-related outages instantly.