Generator_Spring 2023_Final

While the forecast is generally accurate,
the real-time energy market
can still change every minute. Because
prices are so volatile, there are times
where Loup generates electricity into a
negative market and loses money.
Loup must put the promised
amount of electricity onto SPP’s grid.
If conditions change and Loup cannot
meet that promise, we must buy it
back at the real-time price.
Another hurdle to generation planning
is compliance with Loup’s license
from the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission.
License restrictions state that Loup
must ensure minimum water flows in
the bypass reach (the portion of the
Loup River from the diversion weir to
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its meeting with the Platte River). The
District is also limited to a maximum
diversion of 2,000 cubic feet per second
from March 1 to June 7.
But the operators’ duties don’t end
there. The Columbus Powerhouse
serves as an after-hours call center.
Operators reconnect customers, take
payments, answer outage calls and dispatch
line technicians to those outages.
They also monitor Loup’s substations
and their security with the Supervisory
Control and Data Acquisition
(SCADA) system.
Loup’s five Powerhouse Operators
—Baxa, Jamie Held, Blane Konwinski,
Justin Kohl, and Tony Miller — handled
all these duties with success last
year.
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Prior to 2022, Loup sold its energy
generation to NPPD and was paid for
each kilowatt hour based on a formula
tied to the average cost of NPPD’s
generating facilities.
In their first year navigating the
SPP market, the operators beat the
generation revenue forecast by nearly
$1.5 million and did so with less water
than the previous year.
But the operators are quick to point
out that the success is due in large part
to their fellow employees at the Headworks
and those on the canal crew.
Headworks employees operate the
intake gates, diverting as much water
as possible based on river conditions
and license restrictions. They, too,
constantly monitor the water levels
and alert the operators to any changes.
The canal crew employees help
maintain the canal system, ensuring
that everything is working properly.
And together, they made certain
that their calculated risk paid off.
Loup Power District generates electricity
at its powerhouses in Monroe and Columbus.
NPPD — Loup’s wholesale energy provider
— bids the electricity (along with its own) into
SPP’s wholesale energy market, competing
against other generators.
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5
SPP selects the lowest-cost
resources based on fuel and variable
operation and maintenance costs.
Loup purchases energy
from NPPD to serve customers.
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10 | GENERATOR
NPPD buys energy back from SPP
to serve customers, including Loup,
at a market price.