Perennial Public Power District: About Us

Acting under the terms of the Rural Electrification Act, the Petition For The Creation of the District was filed and approved on December 31, 1938. At the board's first legal meeting on January 4, 1939, the by-laws were approved, and a resolution was adopted to borrow funds from the Rural Electrification Administration in Washington, D.C. for line construction in York County. During the months following, engineers and a construction company were hired to build power lines, and on February 6, 1940, it was announced that 130 miles of line had been constructed, and that 118 customers were receiving power from the District.

The District continued to grow steadily, even through the long years of World War II. On October 2, 1945, the Board of Directors adopted a resolution to add Fillmore County to its service area. In the years that have followed, new substations have been built as lines have expanded, and as electric loads have continued to grow throughout the service area.

In 2000, the District changed with the times when York County Rural Public Power District changed its name to Perennial Public Power District. Part of the reason for the name change is that the old name no longer accurately reflected the power district's service area. York County Public Power actually has served Fillmore county for decades and also had recently starting serving the towns of Exeter, Grehsam, Henderson, McCool Junction, Milligan, Ohiowa and Waco. Terms like "York County" and "rural" simply didn't describe the power company any more. General Manager Jamey Pankoke said "perennial" was chosen because it means lasting indefinitely, or perpetual. "We want people to understand that they can have confidence in the District being here to take care of all of their service needs," Pankoke said. Story about name change

As a public corporation and political subdivision of the State of Nebraska, Perennial Public Power District is able to provide many benefits to its customers. Unlike investor-owned utilities (IOUs), we do not have stockholders. This means that any profits generated by the District are reinvested in the system, which allows us to offer some of the lowest rates in the nation.

The Perennial Public Power District's electric system is a transmission and distribution system consisting of 194 miles of 34.5 kV transmission lines, 1,840 miles of primary distribution lines, and 26 substations. Approximately six miles of the 2,034 distribution and transmission lines are underground service. The District receives all of its power and energy at four delivery points, through the Nebraska Electric Generation and Transmission Cooperative Inc., from Nebraska Public Power District .

The properties of the District's electric system are well maintained. Repairs and replacements are being made on a regular basis to ensure continuity of service to the District's 6,906 metered service connections. Over one-third of the services are used for irrigation or grain drying. The electric system is arranged to interconnect between the major delivery points to provide for reliability of power supply and flexibility of system operation. All customers' services are metered.

All corporate powers of the District are vested in and exercised by a Board of Directors consisting of seven members, each serving staggered terms of not more than six years. Directors are elected by qualified voters within the District.

Board meetings are held the third Tuesday of each month at the District headquarters at 2122 South Lincoln Avenue in York, Nebraska. These meetings are open to the public. If you would like to contact your board representative, please call: (402) 362-3355.

The responsibility for the actual day-to-day operation of Perennial Public Power District is vested in Jamey Pankoke, General Manager, and 34 employees. Assisting the general manager in the operation of the District is:

Jim Winchell- Manager of Customer Services
Jim Martindale - Manager of Finance and Accounting
Ardean Richert - Manager of Operations

To reach a member of management, call the District headquarters at (402) 362-3355, or e-mail perennial@mainstaycomm.net.