OMAHA, Neb. (CN) - Nebraska's attorney general has dropped a lawsuit against the Omaha Public Power District in the wake of a vote last week to keep coal burning at one of its power plants.
In October, Attorney General Mike Hilgers sued in state court over the district's decision to eliminate the North Omaha Station's use of coal. He argued the move violated the Nebraska Legislature's two dictates for energy producers: reliability and affordability.
But last Thursday, the utility's board voted to continue coal generation, while directing its staff to take steps toward a greener future.
"We brought this lawsuit because public power providers should not achieve their self-imposed environmental goals by raising prices for Nebraska consumers," Hilgers said in a news release Tuesday. "After last week's vote, OPPD's plans for the North Omaha Station now align with their twin mandates of affordability and reliability in delivering electricity to Nebraskans."
The state has asked for the suit to be dismissed without prejudice, meaning it can be filed again. The utility said in a statement its vote was unrelated to the lawsuit.
"While we are still maintaining North Omaha Station in its current operational state, we remain committed to a responsible energy transition in the future," the utility said. "We are a part of this community as well and look forward to serving our fellow Nebraskans for generations to come."
The district said last year it was committed to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, adding reductions reached 40.6% from 2013 to 2023. It also noted its plan to retire three gas units at its North Omaha Station and transition two coal units to gas by 2027.
The utility has long sought to end the burning of coal at the North Omaha Station, but has faced repeated delays in doing so, citing rapid growth as a reason. The district has added 23,000 new customers in the past five years, with energy demand shooting up by about 500 megawatts.
The decision to delay the ending of coal generation has been met with anger in the North Omaha area, with members of the local community citing environmental justice issues. North Omaha includes some of the most poverty-stricken and racially segregated areas in Nebraska's largest city.
"Continuing the operation of coal-fired generation represents a clear detrimental impact to human health, exacerbates existing health inequities, and imposes an unacceptable burden on specific communities, most notably North Omaha," wrote Douglas County Health Department Director Lindsay Huse in a letter to the board, according to Nebraska Public Media.
The utility has said it shares the public's concerns, while also pointing out that it has successfully reduced many types of emissions, including sulfur dioxide by 50% since 2015 and carbon dioxide by 40% since 2013.
In the lawsuit, Hilgers asked a judge in the suit to permanently stop the district from taking any action that doesn't prioritize the reliability and affordability, as well as declare the district's board of directors as having breached its fiduciary duty.
Hilgers pointed to the district's environmental justice concerns and desire to become net-zero, saying it had no relation to reliability and affordability. And he cast aside arguments that that power plant hampers air quality, saying that metrics show the quality is good.
With more than 160 public utilities, Nebraska is the only state powered solely by public power. The Omaha Public Power District is the 12th-largest public utility in the nation, serving nearly 900,000 people in 13 counties and has a 5,000-square-mile service area.
Source: Courthouse News Service
