Editorial, submitted by LeAnne Doose,
Communications Director, Southern Power District

Currently, our nation's leaders are working to craft an energy policy, and the direction of future legislation is pointing toward addressing concerns about global warming. There has certainly been much debate about this issue, but now it seems that the debate is over. Discussions in the political world no longer focus upon the validity of global warming, but instead are in search of soluitons. Unfortuantely, the solutions for this issue are ones that will be costly for electric consumers. There are projections that global warming solutions could drive up electric rates across the nation significantly, tripling them within the next 10 years.

We all have our own opinions about global warming. But no matter how you feel about global warming, chances are most of us feel the same about our utility bill--we want, and need it to be as low as possible. At this time, we cannot say for certain how our rates here in Nebraska will be affectd by global warming legislation. We are currently ranking at the 5th lowest rates in the nation and are fortunate to hav surplus generation for several years. This puts Nebraska in a good psition, but we cannot let our current status allow us to become complacent about the effects that global warming legislation will have on our daily budgets and our daily lives. We need our local, state and national leaders to know that we need affordable electricity to remain a prioirty.

Southern Power District has joined a nationwide campaign called Our Energy, Our Future, which strives to bring the voice of electric consumers to our elected officials in Washington DC. Through this campaign, we hope to drive home the message that as global warming legislation is debated, affordable electric rates are a factor that cannot be ignored.

The Our Energy, Our Future campaign is currently lunderway across the entir enation. Southern Power District feels a strong sense of duty to make our customers aware of these issues and provide our customers with the ability to voice concerns to our elected representatives. I urge you to join us in the effort and take action now. By joining the effort, you will have the ability to voice your concerns to our U.S. Congressmen and Senators via email or letter.

We cannot afford to wait until this legislation directly affects our utility bills; we must act now as the legislation is being debated. Log on to www.southernpd.com/oeof and be heard.

Our Energy, Our Future

Southern Power District recently ramped up its participation in a national grassroots campaign called Our Energy, Our Future. This is a campaign that urges electric consumers to call upon their Congressmen and Senators in Washington, asking for affordable electricity to remain a priority in discussions about climate change.

You can read for yourself what the concerns are, just log on to Southern's Our Energy, Our Future webpage. We urge you to make contact with our Congressmen and Senators about keeping rates affordable. We need to act now, and not wait until we see the results of climate change legislation affect our daily budgets.

To send email or letter communication, select the "Take Action" button, and you will be directed on how to begin the process.

Scholarship Deadline Approaching Fast

Time is running out to apply for a lineman program scholarship for 2009, the deadline for applications is April 1, 2009.

This scholarship is available to high school seniors or recent high school graduats who are planning to attend an accredited school to attend a utility line program. The scholarship amounts to $1,000, with the first half awarded upon completion of the first year, and the second half awarded upon graduation.

The program requires that the scholarship recipient serve a 12-week summer internship at the district in cooperation with the school attended.

Log on to our website today for all of the details, or call Darrell Peters at 308-384-2350. Time is running out for 2009, so apply today!