The Nebraska Power Review Board is a state agency created to regulate Nebraska’s consumer-owned electrical utility industry, which includes public power districts, cooperatives and municipalities.

The meeting will be 9 a.m. Friday and can be watched remotely. For more information, visit https://powerreview.nebraska.gov/agenda.

If ratified, the merger would dissolve DPPD into the CNPPID and move the district’s headquarters to Lexington.

Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District operates a multipurpose hydro-irrigation project providing irrigation, hydroelectric generation, groundwater recharge, recreation and wildlife habitat in Phelps, Kearney, Gosper, Dawson, Lincoln and Keith counties.

The agency also owns and operates Lake McConaughy, the largest storage reservoir in the state, northwest of Ogallala. The lake’s hydro-irrigation project delivers water to about 108,000 acres under contract with CNPPID and to another 100,000 acres that receive water through contracts with Central or other irrigation projects. The project also provides groundwater recharge benefits from its canals and laterals to more than 310,000 acres irrigated by wells in and adjacent to its service area.

The agency generates revenue primarily from providing irrigation delivery service and wholesale hydropower to other utilities. Administrative headquarters are located in Holdrege, with offices also at Kingsley Dam, Gothenburg and Bertrand. The entity employs about 100 people and is governed by a board of 12 publicly elected directors.

Dawson Public Power District also is a political subdivision, buying and distributing electricity to more than 23,000 electric meters and maintaining more than 5,800 miles of power lines. DPPD serves all of Dawson and Buffalo counties, about two-thirds of Gosper County, a third of Lincoln County and parts of Custer, Sherman and Frontier counties.

The Dawson district has headquarters in Lexington and service centers in North Platte, Gothenburg, Sumner, Ravenna and Kearney. The agency employs about 80 people and is overseen by an 11-person board of directors elected by the public.

The merger, first proposed in 2020, will create a number of opportunities as the two districts combine their ability to create and market electricity, according to the CNPPID website.

A study conducted by Madison, Wisconsin, consulting firm Power Systems Engineering showed a merger would result in financial benefits to the combined entity and to customers and stakeholders. An estimated $11.7 million could be saved over seven years by combining forces to use the 20 megawatts of power from the Jeffrey Hydroplant as well as efficiencies, realignment and workforce reduction through natural attrition as employees retire.

But a group of CNPPID irrigators are concerned the merger isn’t in the best interest of the public served by Central and has the potential to take away their irrigation water. They created a nonprofit organization named Citizens Opposed to the Merger and hired Omaha law firm Kutak Rock LLP to contest the matter.

The organization has filed a protest to the merger and hopes to argue its opposition to the Nebraska Power Review Board, but the organization’s standing to weigh in on the case has been challenged. The group’s standing to make its case is expected to be addressed Friday.

In its protest, Citizens Opposed to the Merger argues the merger should be denied because the combined district would not serve public convenience and welfare as required by state statute. The protest claims the combination would prejudice rural users of irrigation water, and protesters believe water rights should be spelled out in the agreement.

One way in which rural irrigators would be affected is in representation. The citizens argue CNPPID constituents would have just six board members on the final board composition in 2029 while DPPD would have eight.

According to the petition in favor of the merger, the two districts’ boards would continue to serve on the unified board for the remainder of their elected terms. After serving their terms, board members wouldn’t be replaced until only 14 board members remained, making the board size 14 as of 2029. The area covered by the two districts would be divided into seven subdivisions with each subdivision having two seats on the board.

Subdivision 1 would include parts of Buffalo and Sherman counties. Kearney County would be the second subdivision. The third would include parts of Dawson and Custer counties. Phelps County would make up the fourth subdivision. The fifth would include parts of Lincoln County. The sixth would have parts of Gosper and Frontier counties, and the seventh would be Keith County.

Other concerns include that the chartered territory will include areas that won’t receive 50% of its power from the combined district and some areas won’t receive irrigation services from the new entity.

The protest also alleges the Central board’s resolution to approve the merger is invalid due to a violation of the Nebraska Open Meetings Act.

Citizens Opposed to the Merger filed a lawsuit Dec. 2 alleging violations of the Nebraska Open Meetings Act in Phelps County District Court.

In its complaint, the group claims that the consolidation plan should have been public, but discussions of the agreement were held behind closed doors in executive session. The complaint alleges the plan wasn’t discussed in open session and board members were asked to sign a joint non-disclosure agreement to discuss the merger.

Since the merger is of significant public interest, the complaint argues details of the plan and the basis for which board members voted to approve it should have been made available to the public before the agreement was signed.

Due to the alleged violations of law, the group is asking the court to nullify the consolidation agreement between CNPPID and DPPD.

CNPPID hasn’t responded to the allegations and isn’t required to do so until 30 days after the complaint was filed.