Ice Damage May Surpass $250 Million
By Nancy Gaarder, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.
Jan. 16–Nebraska may have sustained more than a quarter-billion dollars in damage from the back-to-back ice storms that struck in late December, Sen. Ben Nelson said Monday.
After touring central Nebraska, Nelson, D-Neb., said that in his years of public service he’s never seen storm damage of this magnitude.
The Nebraska Public Power District reported Monday that storm damage and related expenses, such as buying outside electricity, could push its costs to $180 million. The Southern Power District has said its damage could reach $80 million.
NPPD and Southern were the hardest-hit of about a dozen utilities affected by the storms. Schools, local governments and other public agencies also face storm-related expenses.
LeAnne Doose, spokeswoman for Southern, said the utility’s message to Nelson was straightforward: the amount of damage was unprecedented. The utility and its customers have sustained substantial losses.
Nelson said that so far there have been no complaints about the federal government’s speed in responding to the disaster. All reports indicate that the local, state and federal governments are working well together, he said.
“It appears to me that everything that can be done is being done, so that this doesn’t end up like a Katrina situation,” Nelson said.
President Bush has declared central Nebraska a federal disaster area, making utilities and government agencies eligible for federal assistance.
Because of the nature of the storms, individuals generally are not eligible for federal aid, creating a hardship for some families.
The financial burden is growing in ways that aren’t always obvious, including lost wages, spoiled food, fuel bills for generators and the expense of replacing damaged electrical appliances.
Over the weekend, utilities passed a significant milestone. Fewer than 1,000 customers remained without power Monday, said NPPD spokeswoman Jeanne Schieffer. At the height of the storm, an estimated 30,000 customers were without power.
Doose estimated that Southern customers account for about 700 of those still without power.
Also, several communities have yet to be connected to the grid and continue to get their power from generators.
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Copyright (c) 2007, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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