June 2025 Newsletter
A Letter from our General Manager
There have been quite a few things happening here at Niobrara Valley Electric since my last newsletter. We just received our draft audit for 2024 with no concerns. The audit will be ready for the board to approve at our June board meeting.
Irrigation season is upon us, and has been busy as always. We currently have connected 43 new irrigation services for the 2025 season. To serve these, we constructed 12 miles of new three-phase line. Currently, we have roughly 130 on a list waiting to be served. To accommodate the 130 new irrigation services, we are starting the process of building a new substation east and north of O’Neill. This process consists of the acquisition of land, which we have purchased; engineering studies, which are being completed as I write this; and bids being sent out for contractors and vendors for labor and materials. There will be three bids sent out for this project. The first is for a 10 MVA transformer. This will be sent out in June because of the extended lead times for this piece of equipment. What I am hearing is that these transformers have a lead time of 60-80 weeks with a price tag ranging from $750K to $900K. Tariffs may play a part in the pricing, but we will have to wait and see. The second and third bids are for two different contracts. One is for the construction of approximately 6 miles of 69KV transmission line with distribution under build, and the other will be for the construction of the new substation. These bids are scheduled to go out in August or September. We hope to have this new substation energized in the fall of 2026.
