South Central Power District holds open house on 75th anniversary

Most of us in Nuckolls County have heard of South Central Public Power District. Many of us get mail from them each month. What I'd wager is that you didn't know they've been around since the Stone Age! The stone ages of electricity in rural Nebraska, that is. The electrification of cities began as early as 1880, but for us country folk, it took much longer. Only 11 percent of U.S. farms had electricity in 1935. Thankfully that year, the Rural Electrification Administration was created by President Roosevelt.

The goal of the REA was to bring electricity to America's rural areas. The Rural Electrification Act of 1936, signed by President Roosevelt on May 20, 1936, set forth new policies based on the agency's early experience. Among these policies were loans would be made available for large construction projects and for individual homes. Even with the REA and the new policies, the electrification of rural areas was a slow process, especially in Nebraska. The Great Depression and drought, along with WWII, brought even more roadblocks to the expansion of electricity.

In 1945 the South Central Membership Association was founded. It was set up as a cooperative, and members paid a five-dollar membership fee. By the end of 1946, the cooperative had more than 2,100 members who had requested service. The first distribution line was energized on April 28, 1949. The cooperative built their first office and warehouse in Nelson in the early 1950s and later acquired an office building at the south end of the block.

By the end of 1953, SCMA was serving 2,903 customers, three of which were for irrigation. By the end of the decade, the group had five substations to accommodate the growing need. On Jan. 1, 1961, SCMA was recognized as South Central Public Power District. From 1962 to 1968 SCPPD raised 118 miles of 69kV line and built 10 new substations. The new system featured "lightning shielding" and was built on a loop to provide two ways to get power into each substation.

In 1980 SCPPD was able to mark their first REA loan as paid in full. In 1981 a new headquarters was built in Nelson, and a warehouse in Clay Center was placed in service. Three new substations were added during 1983 and 1984. In 1984 SCPPD implemented a distribution pole inspection program to identify unserviceable poles and to extend the life of the remaining poles. Contracts were purchased in 1986 to serve Oak and Glenvil.

In the 90s, SCPPD started planning for the future and hasn't stopped looking ahead. They are constantly working to improve the way they do things and provide the best possible service to their customers.

Last year marked SCPPD's 75th anniversary, but the company was unable to celebrate because of the pandemic. They held an open house at the Nelson Auditorium Sunday, Sept.12. Lunch was served, and door prizes were awarded. Several areas were set up for games and educational purposes, along with a historical display and slide show that Max VanSkiver created. Max became the company's third manager in 1986. He is now retired.

Outside they had an electric Ford Mustang set up for visitors to view. The vehicle had been at the state fair, and Royce Schott drove it home. He said it was a little different than driving a regular vehicle. The charge on the vehicle would get you from here to Lincoln and not much further. It was a really nice vehicle. The entire top of the car was glass, the doors opened by pushing a button and in the place of the radio was a tablet with a screen bigger than a computer screen.

The event also offered to give people a ride high up in the air with one of the company's linemen or learn how to climb a power pole.