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LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED NINTH LEGISLATURE
SECOND SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 1026
Introduced by Storm, 23; Clouse, 37; DeKay, 40; Sorrentino, 39; Strommen,
47.
Read first time January 13, 2026
Committee: Natural Resources
A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to electricity; to amend section 70-1001.01,1
Revised Statutes Supplement, 2025; to define a term; to prohibit2
retirement, shutdown, cessation of operation, and alteration of3
operation of certain facilities as prescribed; to harmonize4
provisions; and to repeal the original section.5
Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,6
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Section 1. Section 70-1001.01, Revised Statutes Supplement, 2025, is1
amended to read: 2
70-1001.01 For purposes of sections 70-1001 to 70-1028.02 and3
section 2 of this act, unless the context otherwise requires:4
(1) Board means the Nebraska Power Review Board;5
(2) Commercial electric vehicle charging station means equipment6
designed to provide electricity for a fee for the charging of an electric7
vehicle or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, including an electric8
vehicle direct-current charger or a super-fast charger, any successor9
technology, and all components thereof. Commercial electric vehicle10
charging station does not include the residence of a person where an11
electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is charged if no12
customer usage fee is charged; 13
(3) Commercial electric vehicle charging station operator means a14
person, partnership, corporation, or other business entity or political15
subdivision that operates a commercial electric vehicle charging station;16
(4) Direct-current, fast-charging station means a publicly available17
charging system capable of delivering at least fifty kilowatts of direct-18
current electrical power to an electric vehicle's rechargeable battery at19
a voltage of two hundred volts or greater; 20
(5) Direct-current, fast-charging station operator means a person,21
partnership, corporation, or other business entity that operates a22
direct-current, fast-charging station open to the public. The term does23
not include an electric supplier or a political subdivision;24
(6) Electric supplier or supplier of electricity means any legal25
entity supplying, producing, or distributing electricity within the state26
for sale at wholesale or retail. Electric supplier does not include a27
commercial electric vehicle charging station operator that is a private28
person or privately owned partnership, privately owned corporation, or29
other privately owned business; 30
(7) Electronic-related means relating to electronic devices,31
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circuits, or similar systems, or the components of such electronic1
devices, circuits, or similar systems, that require electrical currents2
or electromagnetism to operate; 3
(8) Foreign adversary means a foreign government or foreign4
nongovernment person determined to be a foreign adversary pursuant to 155
C.F.R. 791.4, as such regulation existed on February 7, 2025;6
(9) Military installation means: 7
(a) A United States Air Force ballistic missile silo located within8
the geographic area described in 31 C.F.R. 802.211(b)(3), as such9
regulation existed on January 1, 2025; or 10
(b) A United States Air Force base described in 31 C.F.R.11
802.227(c), as such regulation existed on January 1, 2025;12
(10) Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle has the same meaning as in13
section 60-345.01; 14
(11) Private electric supplier means an electric supplier producing15
electricity from a privately developed renewable energy generation16
facility that is not a public power district, a public power and17
irrigation district, a municipality, a registered group of18
municipalities, an electric cooperative, an electric membership19
association, any other governmental entity, or any combination thereof. A20
private electric supplier is limited to the development of those21
facilities as provided in subdivision (12) of this section;22
(12) Privately developed renewable energy generation facility means23
and is limited to a facility that (a) generates electricity using solar,24
wind, geothermal, biomass, landfill gas, or biogas, including all25
electrically connected equipment used to produce, collect, and store the26
facility output up to and including the transformer that steps up the27
voltage to sixty thousand volts or greater, and including supporting28
structures, buildings, and roads, unless otherwise agreed to in a joint29
transmission development agreement, (b) is developed, constructed, and30
owned, in whole or in part, by one or more private electric suppliers,31
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and (c) is not wholly owned by a public power district, a public power1
and irrigation district, a municipality, a registered group of2
municipalities, an electric cooperative, an electric membership3
association, any other governmental entity, or any combination thereof;4
(13) Regional transmission organization means an entity independent5
from those entities generating or marketing electricity at wholesale or6
retail, which has operational control over the electric transmission7
lines in a designated geographic area in order to reduce constraints in8
the flow of electricity and ensure that all power suppliers have open9
access to transmission lines for the transmission of electricity;10
(14) Reliable or reliability means the ability of an electric11
supplier to supply the aggregate electric power and energy requirements12
of its electricity consumers in Nebraska at all times under normal13
operating conditions, taking into account scheduled and unscheduled14
outages, including sudden disturbances or unanticipated loss of system15
components that are to be reasonably expected for any electric utility16
following prudent utility practices, recognizing certain weather17
conditions and other contingencies may cause outages at the distribution,18
transmission, and generation level; 19
(15) Representative organization means an organization designated by20
the board and organized for the purpose of providing joint planning and21
encouraging maximum cooperation and coordination among electric22
suppliers. Such organization shall represent electric suppliers owning a23
combined electric generation plant accredited capacity of at least ninety24
percent of the total electric generation plant accredited capacity25
constructed and in operation within the state; 26
(16) State means the State of Nebraska; and 27
(17) Unbundled retail rates means the separation of utility bills28
into the individual price components for which an electric supplier29
charges its retail customers, including, but not limited to, the separate30
charges for the generation, transmission, and distribution of31
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electricity. 1
Sec. 2. (1) An electric supplier shall not retire, shutdown, cease2
operation of, or substantially alter the operation of any electric3
generation facility or privately developed renewable energy generation4
facility if the electric supplier has customers waiting for electric5
service unless such retirement, shutdown, cessation, or alteration is due6
to any of the following reasons: 7
(a) The facility's retirement, shutdown, cessation, or alteration is8
mandated by federal or state law; 9
(b) The facility is mechanically unsafe to operate;10
(c) The facility is damaged beyond repair due to a natural disaster;11
or 12
(d) Continuing operation of the facility is uneconomical.13
(2) Before the retirement, shutdown, cessation, or alteration can14
occur, the governing body of the electric supplier shall identify the15
reasons for the retirement, shutdown, cessation, or alteration in a16
resolution and such resolution shall include at least one of the reasons17
described in subsection (1) of this section. 18
Sec. 3. Original section 70-1001.01, Revised Statutes Supplement,19
2025, is repealed. 20
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