Nebraska Public Service Commission

Thomas Golden, Executive Director, Nebraska Public Service Commission, P.O. Box 94927, Lincoln, NE 68509-4927. Phone: (402) 471-3101

Quasi-Judicial Regulatory Agency

All individuals in the state.

All individuals in the state.

1906

1906

None

Article IV, Section 20 of the Nebraska Constitution

Nebraska Public Service Commission

5

Elected by the voting public

No

Resident of Nebraska; Registered Voter; and, if a member of or practitioners in any profession, in good standing according to the established standards or such profession. See Neb. Rev. Stat. Section 75-101

None

Yes

6 years

Terms Rotate

0

58

0

48

0

65

57

Separate

559,783

562,499

565,323

none

Yes. The Commission allocates other appropriated funds by program to meet its authorized purpose and goals.

Telecommunications DepartmentThe department continues to provide the Annual Report on Telecommunications to the Legislature. The reports can be accessed on the Commissions website at www.psc.nebraska.gov under the Communications heading, then, Annual Reports to the Legislature. This report covers topics and statistics related to the telecommunications industry in Nebraska. Highlights of a few of these areas are as follows:Broadband Deployment: The Commission has completed four grant cycles through the Nebraska Broadband Bridge Grant Program, starting with the 2021 calendar year, and is set to make additional awards in January 2025. The program has brought 100100 Mbps (DownUp) broadband to almost 17,000 households in Nebraska. Additionally, the Commission administered federal Capital Projects Funds (CPF) support for broadband deployment. The CPF funds were used to complete 2 grant cycles, bringing service to nearly 10,000 households in Nebraska. Telecommunications Relay Service: The Nebraska Public Service Commission continues to work with the Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to process applications for the NSTEP program. The TRS Advisory Committee provides continuing advice regarding policies and procedures for the administration of the NSTEP program as well as any relay service issues, including those related to the quality of service provided by the relay center. The advisory committee provides annual recommendations to the Commission relative to setting the surcharge necessary to fund the relay service and the NSTEP voucher program for the following year.Nebraska Universal Service Fund (NUSF): The department also administers the NUSF and has continued to promote awareness of the NUSF support available to schools, libraries, rural health care providers and low-income Nebraskans.Nebraska Telephone Assistance Program (NTAP): The Department continues to promote the NTAP through the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to approximately 65,000 eligible Nebraskans.Nebraska Statewide Tele-Health Network: The Commission continues this partnership with the healthcare community by providing supplemental funding to health care providers or consortia that receive federal support through the FCCs Healthcare Connect Fund. Nebraska High-Cost Broadband Support: The Commission continues to support deployment of broadband capable networks in high-cost areas. The Commission has stabilized the support coming into the fund through surcharge revenues by modifying the mechanism to be based on connections, instead of as a percentage of assessable revenues. This has led to a more stable and predictable fund. The fund has supported buildout of broadband-capable fiber-optic voice networks to over 8,300 unserved households through its high-cost programs. Additionally, the fund has supported the buildout of 38 towers through its wireless tower fund to improve cellular phone coverage in the state.State 911 DepartmentFollowing the passage of the 911 Service System Act (LB 938) in 2016, the Commission developed a Master Plan for the provision of Next Generation 911 service to the State of Nebraska. The successful completion of that Master Plan culminated in the passage of LB 993 in 2018. In that same year the Commission established the 911 Service System Advisory Committee. The 911 Service System Advisory Committee established several sub-working groups to make recommendations to the Commission regarding Funding, GIS, Training, Operations and Technical assistance. As a result, the Commission adopted a new Next Generation 911 Funding model, statewide minimum training standards, and developed model policies on Disaster Recovery and Continuity of Operations Plans, Outage Notifications, and established standards for interaction between 911 centers and the National Suicide Hotline (988) in Nebraska. In 2020, the Commission issued a Request for Proposal to contract with telecommunication providers to establish a statewide Emergency Services Internet Protocol Network (ESInet) and Next Generation 911 Core Services (NGCS). In January of 2021, the Commission contracted with Lumen (formerly CenturyLink) to provide these services. Since then, the sixty-seven 911 Centers in Nebraska have connected to the Nebraska NG 911 Service System. The Commission and Lumen continue to work with Originating Service Providers to directly connect their services to the NG 911 Service System. Additionally, the Commission has contracted to provide statewide data analytics and backup location identification services to the 911 centers across the state.Commissioners and staff continue to be involved with 911 and public safety associations locally and nationwide.Natural Gas Department: The Natural Gas Department has been in existence since the passage of the State Natural Gas Regulation Act in 2003. The Department continues to carry out the regulatory functions contained within SNGRA and Commission rules and regulations.In February of 2021, the Commission dealt with the aftermath of Winter Storm Uri, a polar vortex of air that stretched from Canada to San Antonio, and from the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachian Mountains, bringing extremely low, sub-zero temperatures to that entire geographic area of the U.S. Gas wells in Oklahoma and Texas froze, electric generators froze, causing severe supply shortages while demand spiked to extreme highs. Natural gas prices soared as utilities in a majority of the country, including Nebraskas utilities, sought to buy additional supply to meet the extreme demand created by the cold temperatures. The Commission worked with the jurisdictional utilities to subsidize and recover the Uri costs over months instead of having budget busting bills hit families and businesses in one month. The last of the recovery ended in June of 2024.From 2022 to 2024, The Commission conducted in-depth audits of the gas purchasing and management practices of the jurisdictional utilities in Nebraska. The Commission conducted the audits pursuant to its statutory authority. The audits found no significant issues but included multiple recommendations that have been undertaken by the companies to improve and strengthen procurement, forecasting, and management of the gas supply portfolio of the companies to the benefit of ratepayers.In June 2024, NorthWestern Energy filed an application for a general rate increase. This is the first application for a rate increase from NorthWestern since 2007. The communities served by NorthWestern are negotiating to determine new rates that are subject to approval by the Commission. A decision is expected sometime in 2025.Transportation DepartmentThe Legislature passed LB 629 in 2015, which gave the Commission authority over Transportation Network Companies (TNCs). Since that time, the Commission has continued to provide insight in its TNC Annual Report to the Legislature on the impact of TNCs on the taxicab market for both private pay passengers and Medicaid non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) passengers.In 2020, the Legislature passed LB 461, which resulted in a regulatory scheme change for household goods movers and transporters of railroad train crews. This change has resulted in an influx of household goods movers as well as altered the Commissions regulatory oversight of these types of carriers. In 2022, the Commission collaborated with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to be prepared to better gauge the need of additional providers to Medicaid NEMT services.The Commission continues to meet its statutory obligations of inspecting vehicles, sealing taxi meters, reviewing applications for authority, and investigating consumer complaints throughout the State. The Commission continues to collaborate with relevant law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to ensure viable paths in enforcement.Grain Warehouses & Dealers DepartmentUnder the Warehouse Act, Grain Dealer Act, and Weights and Measures Act for Grain Moisture Measuring Devices, the department continues to carry out the regulatory functions contained within the statutes and Commission rules and regulations to protect the producers of all grain commodities grown in our State. In 2024, the Legislature passed LB 262, which in part increased required security for Warehouses and Dealers. With the increase of additional required security, Nebraska producers have additional protection from loss if there would be a failure. During this reporting period, there has not been a closure which has resulted in a loss to producers. Housing and Recreational VehiclesThe Housing and Recreational Vehicle Department continues to provide regulatory oversight of the production and sale of manufactured homes, recreational vehicles and modular housing units that are constructed andor sold in Nebraska to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public through the management of the design and the construction of all types of housing produced off-site. The team reviews construction documents, structural calculations, energy computations and quality assurance procedures of each manufacturer. Site inspections at the factories are then performed to assure these structures are built in accordance with the approved documents, adopted building codes, and all applicable State statutes and regulations.The department maintains a cooperative partnership with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).