NEBRASKA POWER REVIEW BOARD
Minutes of the 867th Meeting
November 7, 2025
The 867th meeting of the Nebraska Power Review Board (Board or PRB) was held in the First Floor Hearing Room, Nebraska State Office Building, 301 Centennial Mall South, Lincoln, Nebraska beginning. The meeting was called to order at 1:02 p.m. The roll was called and present were Chairman Hutchison, Vice Chairwoman Gottschalk, and Mr. Austin. Mr. Grennan was participating virtually via Webex. Mr. Liegl was also participating virtually via Webex but was not yet online at the beginning of the meeting. Executive Director Texel stated that public notice for the meeting had been published in the Lincoln Journal Star newspaper on October 31, 2025. The Board made the meeting available to the public through Webex. The Webex login information was available on the Board’s website. The agenda on the Board’s website provided links to the agenda items with associated documents the Board will consider, as well as a link to the Nebraska Open Meetings Act. Executive Director Texel explained that if any member of the public watching the meeting on Webex wanted to speak, they can click on the “raise your hand” icon. They would need to type into the chat their name, address and organization. The Host would then announce them. Anyone wishing to comment on an item or ask a question could also type the comment or question in the “chat” function and the Board’s staff would read the question or comment to the Board. All background materials for the agenda items to be acted on were provided to all Board members prior to the meeting and a copy of the materials was in each Board member’s meeting notebook. The executive director announced that a copy of the Nebraska Open Meetings Act was on display on the south wall of the room, and another copy was available in a black three-ring binder on the table in the back of the room. A copy of all materials that the Board would consider was available for public inspection, as well as extra copies of the agenda.
The Board first considered the draft minutes from its September 19, 2025, public meeting. The minutes had been sent electronically to the Board members. The staff did not have any changes to recommend and no one contacted the office regarding any changes. Vice Chairwoman Gottschalk moved to approve the minutes. Mr. Austin seconded the motion. Voting on the motion: Chairman Hutchison – yes, Vice Chairwoman Gottschalk – yes, Mr. Austin – yes, Mr. Grennan – yes, and Mr. Liegl – absent. The motion carried 4-0 with one absent.
The next agenda item was to consider if the Board will request the Nebraska Attorney General to authorize the Board to intervene in the Liphardt v. City of Lincoln, doing business as Lincoln Electric System lawsuit. Executive Director Texel stated the lawsuit was filed in the Lancaster County District Court. It is a Petition for Writ of Mandamus filed by Martin Liphardt. Mr. Liegl joined the meeting via Webex at 1:09 p.m. The Petition asks the Court to issue an order prohibiting the Lincoln Electric System (LES) from entering into a tolling agreement or similar contract with the Eolian company whereby LES would buy the output from a battery storage or Energy Storage Resource (ESR) to be owned by Eolian. The suit refers to ESRs as Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), which is another term sometimes used in the electric industry. The lawsuit came about because Eolian asked LES for a generation interconnection agreement (GIA) for a proposed ESR in LES’s service area. Liphardt alleges that a for-profit private company is prohibited from constructing or installing an ESR in Nebraska, and that only Nebraska’s public power utilities are authorized to construct such resources. The executive director clarified that the Board cannot make an appearance in court without the Attorney General’s authorization. If approved, the AG could have an Assistant AG handle the case or he could appoint the Board’s general counsel as a special assistant AG, or a combination of the two. On October 28 Executive Director Texel met with the assistant attorney general assigned to the PRB to discuss the lawsuit and the PRB’s possible intervention. It was decided that the best course was to put the item on the agenda to address both intervention and request appointment of the general counsel as a special assistant attorney general. The primary reason for intervention is that under the regulatory scheme established by Nebraska’s Legislature for electric generation and transmission facilities, which the Board interprets to include ESRs, that the PRB is the entity expected to deal with this subject matter through its administrative hearing process or a petition for declaratory order under the Administrative Procedure Act. This is an issue of major importance to the structure of the electric system in Nebraska. Executive Director Texel told the Board that Eolian has already filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit. Mr. Austin stated he has confidence in LES’s legal counsel, but the agency with responsibility over this subject matter should be a part of a lawsuit on such an important issue. He thought the lack of the PRB’s presence in the lawsuit would be noticed by the court, and the PRB should participate to ensure that the court is fully aware of PRB’s processes.
Mr. Austin moved to direct the general counsel to contact the Attorney General to request permission or authorization for the Board to intervene in the Liphardt v. City of Lincoln doing business as Lincoln Electric System lawsuit, and to request that the Attorney General appoint the Board’s general counsel as a special assistant attorney general for the limited purpose of this legal case. Mr. Grennan seconded the motion. Voting on the motion: Chairman Hutchison – yes, Vice Chairwoman Gottschalk – yes, Mr. Austin – yes, Mr. Moen – yes, and Mr. Liegl – yes. The motion carried 5-0.
Robin Spady (Director of Energy Regulation, Omaha Public Power District) asked what role or relationship the GIA plays in the lawsuit, and whether the PRB’s intervention would deal with the GIA. Executive Director Texel stated that the Board has no interest in the GIA itself, as the Board has no jurisdiction over that process. The Board’s interest is related to the administrative approval process for the proposed ESR that would eventually be the interconnected facility. The background of the case is that Eolian requested a GIA with LES through the Southwest Power Pool’s interconnection process. There were also some zoning changes Eolian requested that the Lincoln City Council enact to address the generation interconnection and ESR facility. The executive director said it was his understanding after speaking with the legal counsels for both Eolian and LES that was the original impetus for the lawsuit, even if the Petition does not state that directly.
The next item on the agenda was to consider whether the PRB would file comments on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANOPR) issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in docket RM26-4-000. The docket is captioned “Interconnection of Large Loads to the Interstate Transmission System.” The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy issued the ANOPR and directed FERC to consider whether to adopt the new rules. The Secretary of Energy stated in a letter to FERC that although historically FERC has not exerted jurisdiction over generation interconnections, it is his view that interconnection of large loads directly to the interstate transmission system falls with FERC’s jurisdiction. FERC issued a Notice inviting comments, stating that the ANOPR is intended to ensure efficient, timely and non-discriminatory load interconnections. The deadline for submitting comments is November 14.[1] The Notice was issued October 27, so the comment period was only 18 days. The Board asked if the utility representatives present at the meeting or on Webex had any thoughts they could share with the Board.
Robin Spady stated that OPPD was meeting with the Large Public Power Council (LPPC) and discussing if comments would be filed. She also mentioned that the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) may file comments. She stated that it would be hard for OPPD to file comments on its own in this short of a timeframe. Executive Texel asked if the utility representatives knew if the American Public Power Association (APPA) was looking at filing comments. He stated concern that FERC appeared to be intruding into an area historically reserved to state jurisdiction. He noted that parties only have until next Friday to file comments. John McClure (Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Nebraska Public Power District) commented that he wanted to echo the comments that were being made by others. All the utilities are concerned about this. Fundamentally this ANOPR seems to be going too far and upsetting the balance. The short notice period is also a concern. This is a very expedited timeframe, which presents a real challenge to prepare comments. Executive Director Texel said that normally after an ANOPR is issued FERC will issue a NOPR and again allow comments. He wondered if that same process will be followed here. Chairman Hutchison stated that the Secretary of the Department of Energy wanted final action by FERC to be taken by April 30, 2026. Chairman Hutchison stated that the SPP Regional State Committee was not planning to submit comments. Chairman Hutchison asked that if any of the utilities have comments that they can share please send them to the Board’s executive director. Vice Chairwoman Gottschalk stated that it is frustrating due to the short amount of time given in which to submit comments. Executive Director Texel said he expected the Board’s comments will be very high level. Mr. Austin moved to direct Executive Director Texel to draft comment in response to and submit comments on behalf of the Board in answer to FERC docket RM24-6-000. Vice Chairwoman Gottschalk seconded the motion. Voting on the motion: Chairman Hutchison – yes, Vice Chairwoman Gottschalk – yes, Mr. Austin – yes, Mr. Moen – yes, and Mr. Liegl – yes. The motion carried 5-0.
Chairman Hutchison stated that it would be a good idea to create a committee to work with the executive director to draft comments. There will not be time to circulate these amongst the entire Board over the period of just a few days. Mr. Grennan moved to appoint a committee of Mr. Austin and Chairman Hutchison to work with the general counsel and finalize the comments to be filed by the Board in response to FERC’s ANOPR in RM24-6-000. Mr. Liegl seconded the motion. Voting on the motion: Chairman Hutchison – yes, Vice Chairwoman Gottschalk – yes, Mr. Austin – yes, Mr. Moen – yes, and Mr. Liegl – yes. The motion carried 5-0.
Executive Director Texel noted that the next meeting is November 21, 2025.
Mr. Grennan moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Austin seconded the motion. Voting on the motion: Chairman Hutchison – yes, Vice Chairwoman Gottschalk – yes, Mr. Austin – yes, Mr. Grennan – yes, and Mr. Liegl – yes. The motion carried 5 – 0. The meeting adjourned at 1:48 p.m.
Timothy J. Texel
Executive Director and General Counsel
[1] Later in the afternoon that same day FERC announced the comment deadline was extended to November 21.
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