Our Story

Southwest Public Power District is headquartered in Palisade, Nebraska. We currently have 31 full time employees and serve 6,452 meters including approximately 3,900 residential meters. SWPPD also serves more than 109,000 horsepower of irrigation load over 2,585 miles of line from the Colorado border right up to the Western portion of Red Willow county serving 10 towns and villages.

Then and Now

SWPPD actually began in March of 1945 as the Southwest Electric Membership Corporation. It wasn’t until 1954 that we would officially become a Public Power District as a political subdivision of the State of Nebraska, which is governed by a locally elected 8-member Board of Directors. 

In 1949, the average farm used an average of 184 kilowatt hours per farm every month, today it's about 1,300 kilowatt hours. In 1954, SWPPD had seven trucks and two service cars, today the company has a fleet of 27 vehicles. In 1955, Southwest had 21 employees and today we have 29 on staff. In 1955, Southwest provided service to 1,100 farms, and 2,814 consumer meters. Today the numbers are almost 1,400 farms and 6,435 consumer meters.

Changes, some small, some big, have occurred over the last 75 plus years. But some things never change. The dedication of the employees hasn't changed. The people are what has made Southwest great. The staff at SWPPD believes what they do everyday is not just a job but it is a calling.

Over the next 75 years it's guaranteed that Southwest Public Power will change with the times, sometimes leaping ahead, and sometimes keeping pace. What won't change is the dedication of the employees, and the important role the company plays in the southwest corner of the state.