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Loup River Power District Plant.

"bus-bar." From there on, the high-tension transmission system and related substations are operated together by the Board of Managers.

In the financial structure of the three hydros, the grid-system revenues are split on an estimated budget approved by the other districts for their operating expenses. The balance of the revenue is split on the basis of their funded indebtedness so theoretically they will all pay out at exactly the same time. Financed on the basis of a sixty-four-year arrangement, at a graduated rate of approximately four percent, the hydros should have paid off their indebtedness by the year 2004.

Early in March, 1941, the Loup River Public Power District moved into its new headquarters which it shared with the Columbus division of the Consumers Public Power District, and the eastern division offices of the Nebraska Public Power System.

The two-story building, construction of which was supervised by Harry Beckenhauer of Norfolk, is of reinforced concrete, limestone and face brick. The overall dimensions are eighty by ninety feet, with two wings forty-five feet deep. Seventeen thousand square feet of floor space provide room for offices, display of retail electrical equipment and appliances, and an assembly room with a modern folding door of red velour. This area, which has a seating capacity of one hundred, is carpeted and designed for demonstrational purposes. It houses a complete modern electrical kitchen and facilities offstage for the preparation of foods for demonstration.

Behind the enormous enterprise is the work of many men, leaders in the community and business life of Columbus and tireless backers of the program, which at the outset seemed almost as fantastically ambitious as that ventured by the pioneers of years ago. Harold Kramer, chairman of the board of managers of the Nebraska Public Power System, was one of these men. Kramer's whole life, from 1932-1949, was absorbed in the broad program of publicly owned electric power in Nebraska. As executive head of the big hydro district, he had many responsibilities and there was need for an assistant, preferably a young man with stenographic and clerical background. Edward F. Otterpohi was the man chosen by Harold Kramer to do the work and he became the second employee hired by the district. Designated purchasing agent in 1934, he later took over the contract department when Edward F. Lusienski went to the state legislature. Edward Otterpohl was appointed assistant secretary by the Loup River Public Power District board of directors in March, 1937, and a few months later was named head of the contracts, claims and insurance department. He was also made custodian of the new headquarters building when that center was opened in March, 1941.

Fred C. Albert, who retired in 1947, had a wide experience in the engineering field before becoming associated with the Loup River Pub-

lic Power Project. He was bridge engineer inspector with the State Highway Department, and served as Captain of Engineers in the United States Army. Before joining the little group of men in attempting to harness the waters of the Loup, Fred Albert was district engineer of public works in the Dominican Republic and worked on various engineering projects in Chile.

Royal S. Clark, who succeeded Fred Albert as chief hydraulic engineer, had been employed for several years in the engineering department of the Loup River Public Power District. He had previously been associated with the engineering department of the Union Pacific Railroad and on the construction of the Tri-County project. For three years, he served as county engineer of Platte County.

Dewey J. DeBoer headed the important electrical engineering department of the Loup River Public Power District before he moved to St. Louis and his post was filled by Paul W. Hampton, former chief draftsman.

Clarence N. McElfresh was one of the attorneys for the Loup River Public Power Project when it was originally created. August Wagner was also an attorney for the Loup. Both he and C. N. McElfresh were instrumental in drafting the state law under which all Nebraska power districts are now organized.

Other employees who helped-in the work of setting up the Loup River Public Power District were: Edward Fricke, auditor; Paul M. Peterson, assistant auditor; Martin A. Stenger, accountant; Jack W. Curtis, dredge superintendent; William Siems, transmission clerk; Leo L. Locher, assistant test engineer.

Charles B. Fricke, past president of the rural electrification committee; C. C. Sheldon, past chairman of the insurance committee; and Otto F. Walter were also active in guiding the early development of the project.

CONSUMERS PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT

The distribution of power to the city of Columbus began in 1885, when the Columbus Milling Company found it necessary to purchase light in order to operate and thus developed a marketable surplus. One of its first customers was the municipality, and in a newspaper story announcing the service, the firm stated:

"There will be no charge for appliances, or for work in erection and keeping in order. All lights will run ready to furnish streets, stores, offices and private dwellings from dusk until thirty minutes after midnight."

Two years later, in May, 1887, the residents of "dwelling houses" in Columbus were offered electric lights by two Platte County businessmen, Jaeggi and Schupbach, who installed a plant capable of supplying power to five hundred incandescent lights.

Some years later, Alphonse Heintz, D.V.M., came into possession of the mill electric equipment and started an electric plant in a frame building between Twenty-second and Twenty-third Avenues, on the north side of Eleventh Street. For years this plant supplied both the city and private consumers with lighting. However, on February 25, 1908, the Columbus Heat, Light and Power Company was incorporated for one hundred fifty thousand dollars by William A. Ross, John T. Burke and John Parrish.

This organization absorbed the A. Heintz plant and, in return, it relinquished part of the stock in Columbus Heat, Light and Power. A large brick power house was constructed on the south side of town and modern machinery and appliances were installed. The new plant began operation early in 1909, with its main offices in Omaha, and Willis Todd, general manager, administering the firm from those headquarters. W. G. McCully acted as local manager and superintendent in Columbus.

In 1923, this plant was bought by the Northwestern Public Service company, with Herbert M. Robertson as manager. The location was 1260 Twenty-sixth Avenue and at its headquarters, the Northwestern firm featured a complete display of all types of electrically powered merchandise. In 1929, the managership of the company, head offices of which were in Huron, South Dakota, passed into the hands of E. W. Dempewolf.

For many years, chiefly during the early and middle 1930's, proponents of public power in Columbus had tried to buy some of the private electric utilities operating in Nebraska.-Their efforts were only partially successful. At the head of the group were some of the leading officials of the Loup Public Power District. In 1933, however, a piece of legislation had been passed which made it possible for them to acquire these utilities.

The bill was the famous S. F. 310, enabling act, under which provisions the Consumers Public Power District was set up by A. C. Tilley, Nebraska state engineer, on August 5, 1939.

The first official meeting of the board of directors of the new organization was held two days later in Columbus. At that time, the Consumers District was a district in name only. It had no property, and no funds with which to pay its board members.

Nevertheless, officers were elected, including:

Charles B. Fricke, president; Phil R. Hockenberger, first vice president; A. R. Miller, second vice president; C. C. Sheldon, treasurer; 'Walter A. Boettcher, secretary. These men remained in their offices as Loup district's board of directors. A. R. Miller was replaced by Dyo F. Davis of Silver Creek in January, 1941. Phil R. Hockenberger, past president of the Loup District, was the second president of the Consumers District.

New York bankers were skeptical and even veteran public power leaders agreed that it would take between seventy-five and one hundred million dollars to make of Nebraska one huge publicly owned power monopoly. However, within a few months, the Consumers organization had embarked upon the project by closing its first deal with a private company.

That company was the Northwestern Public Service, whose officials agreed to lease-purchase their Columbus division, comprising retail facilities at Columbus, Platte Center, Monroe and Silver Creek. Also included were wholesale outlets at Duncan and Richland and to the Elkhorn Valley Power company. The agreement contained the provision that the people of Columbus grant Northwestern a twenty-five-year franchise and the contract called for the franchise remaining inoperative should the Consumers District not lease-purchase the Columbus property.

In a special election held September 25, 1939, the Consumers District assumed operation of the division under the contract. Votes totaling 1,684 were cast for the franchise and six hundred thirty-one votes against it, with the result that the following month Consumers started in business.

Today, the Consumers Public Power District of Nebraska is one of the state's biggest businesses. Its payroll annually approximates two million dollars and it numbers more than fifteen hundred employees. Of the state's half a million electric power users, about seventy-five percent are served by Consumers. In addition to customers served directly by Consumers, the hydro system sells to many of the municipally-owned systems, to rural districts and to the Omaha Power Company.

Fiscal agent for Consumers, since its inception, has been New York investment banker Guy C. Myers, who worked for several years with the Loup before assuming this position. Myers negotiated the lease-purchase agreement with private utility companies. He later interested John Nuveen and Company of Chicago in the financing of the necessary revenue bond issue. For the original purchase made from Northwestern Public Service $1,250,000 was needed to buy the Columbus division and a new type of bond was pioneered by the Nuveen Company, bearing three and a half percent interest. Payments were no longer to be made in rent; the company was purchased outright.

The following three years saw Consumers involved in an acquisitive movement that gave it a total potential of two hundred twenty thousand kilowatts of power per hour. Through those outlets, the hydro system sold approximately seventy percent of the total power that it generated.

After the Northwestern Public Service contract had been drawn up, the directors of Consumers announced that the district would be willing to act as a medium through which other groups might buy public utilities In this capacity, it assisted in the purchase of the Southern Nebraska Power Company, made possible through issuance of $1,100,000 in three and a quarter percent revenue bonds. The city of Superior, Nebraska, thereby took over the distribution system in that community and the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation district purchased the company's remaining properties for nine hundred thousand dollars. This was in 1940.

Next, Consumers bought and immediately lease-purchased to North Platte the North Platte division of the Northwestern Public Service Company The revenue bond issue for this transaction was dated November 1, 1940; totalled $1,800,000, and bore two and a half percent interest.

Consumers later bought the Elkhorn Valley Power Company, with retail businesses in Scribner, Uehling, Dodge and Creston and wholesale outlets at Howell, Clarkson and Snyder, and the Albion property of the Central Electric and Telephone Company. Both of these organizations had rural lines.

In none of the transactions did Consumers Public Power District possess the actual funds with which to buy. It had, however, broad powers to buy, construct, acquire, own and operate electric properties if it could get the money. Also, it was empowered to expand be-

Consumers Public Power District General Office.

yond the original boundaries of. the city of Columbus.

One of the biggest milestones in the growth of Consumers was passed December 28, 1940, when the organization successfully negotiated the purchase of the Interstate Power Company. This move brought under its control thirty-seven Nebraska municipalities being sold at retail, four at wholesale, and one rural public power contract.

The Interstate purchase was made possible through the issuance of a $3,100,000 revenue bond issue, carrying three percent interest and dated December 15, 1940. Nine counties in northern Nebraska were effected by the sale.

Thirteen days later, Consumers bought out the Central Power Company, adding forty-one municipalities at retail, eleven more at wholesale and a number of other wholesale contracts. January 1, 1941, was the date of the $6,750,000 bond issue, and interest rates were announced at two and a half, two and three-quarters and three percent. A bloc of fifteen counties in central and southeastern Nebraska came in under this phase of the public power program.

However, the biggest transaction made by Consumers was in the spring of 1941. The Iowa-Nebraska Light and Power Company's Nebraska-held properties were turned over to the power selling branch of this publicly owned system with a bond issue of twenty-two million dollars. More than one hundred thirty cities, including the capital at Lincoln, were served by this company at wholesale and retail, and the directors of Consumers chalked up their biggest victory to date.

Three more deals, on April 29, June 13, and September 11, 1941, brought the properties of the Nebraska Power and Light Company (of McCook), the Gothenburg Light and Power Company, the Nebraska Public Service Company and the Central States Electric Company into the system. The three transactions took an additional $1,500,000 in bonds.

Another Consumers' purchase took place on January 2, 1942, in Chicago, where the public power monopoly bought the last private power company (with the exception of Nebraska Power) serving more than one or two communities in the state. In the transaction, the Western Public Service Company, with headquarters at Scottsbluff, passed into the hands of Consumers for $6,800,000. It was the largest acquisition in terms of area and affected the power service of thirty-three counties including the Nebraska panhandle and large sections in the central and southwestern portions of the state.

As a result, Consumers today has a well-integrated hydro and steam plant power system covering thousands of square miles. In 1942, statistics showed that from the three hydro districts, the system produced around four hundred ninety-two million kilowatt hours of hydro power annually. In addition, Consumers owned thirty-two auxiliary hydro and steam plants besides those acquired in the Western deal. These were used to make up deficiencies in hydro production.

© 2005 for the NEGenWeb Project by Ted & Carole Miller