The Omaha Public Power District Board of Directors voted Thursday morning to cease nuclear operations and begin decommissioning the Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant.

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General rates for OPPD customers are not expected to rise for at least five years. The cost to retire the plant is estimated to be around $1.2 billion, but OPPD already had $388 million in funds available for the process. It expects to add to that fund annually and cover remaining costs without raising rates.

“This was a difficult vote and one we did not take lightly,” said OPPD Board Chair Mick Mines. “The industry is changing and it is imperative that we make strategic decisions to better position the district in the future for all our 365,000 customer-owners.”

Historically low gas prices and lower energy use as well as increasing regulatory and operational costs all played a role in the decision. The decommissioning process is expected to take several years, but OPPD said the health and environmental risks "are no greater than when the plant is offline for a routine refueling outage."

OPPD will work to absorb as many employees as possible, but is also working with the Nebraska Department of Labor, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, and other agencies to find employment for those affected by the decommissioning.

"Today’s decision is not a reflection on FCS employees who have worked extremely hard and diligently," OPPD President and CEO Tim Burke said. “They have done all that we’ve asked, and they’ve done a tremendous job. Unfortunately, in today’s market, it’s just too costly to run the plant long-term.”

The process is not expected to have any impact on the availability or reliability of electricity service provided to customers, but OPPD is open to other sources of energy such as natural gas, wind, and solar to meet increasing demand, if necessary.

More information on OPPD’s resource planning is available at

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