The board of Nebraska public power utility Dawson Public Power District on October 2 learned that its irrigation customers experienced less load management than in previous years.
Of the 66 hours of possible irrigation control, Dawson PPD’s anytime option irrigation customers averaged 50 hours of irrigation load management for the 2024 growing season. Most irrigation customers subscribe to the anytime rate, which means they allow their irrigation well to be shut off at any time and on any day of the week. By working together, Dawson PPD and its irrigation customers help keep overall wholesale power costs low, the utility noted.
Dawson PPD’s electrical grid peaked in demand at 209 megawatts in 2024. In 2023, it was 252 MW.
“At Dawson PPD, we take a unique approach to our irrigation load management to benefit our customers,” said Cole Brodine, Manager of Engineering. “Our Board votes on a certain load threshold at the beginning of the irrigation year. This number is determined by historical data and wholesale power costs. When electrical use increases on a summer control day, we slowly shut off irrigation wells to keep Dawson PPD’s overall electrical demand under the threshold. As electrical usage decreases in the evening, we start to slowly turn irrigation wells back on to allow load up to the threshold or until our wholesale provider, Nebraska Public Power District, cancels load management for the day.”
Safety and Loss Prevention Coordinator Dean Kunkee provided a summary of Dawson PPD’s Loss Analysis for 2023. Animals and birds caused about $42,800 in damage to the District’s substations in 2023.
