Omaha Public Power delays $105 million bond issue, citing high cost of borrowing

摘要

Reflecting the high cost of borrowing in the middle of a credit crunch, the Omaha Public Power District has delayed issuing $105 million in bonds. The delay will have no effect on OPPD's operations or construction of a 663-MW coal-fired power plant, Charlie Moriarty, OPPD chief financial officer, said last week. The bonds will help fund construction on OPPD's Nebraska City Station Unit 2, which is expected to come online in May. The plant and a related power line is expected to cost about $800 million. The Omaha, Nebraska-based public power utility, had originally expected to issue the bonds at the beginning of November but will now wait until December or January, Moriarty said. OPPD decided to wait on issuing the bonds because they would cost more in the current credit environment, he said. "We structure and time the periods of borrowing through sales such that we have the luxury of time," Moriarty said. "We plan our needs such that we go into the market early enough that we're not illiquid." OPPD also has a commercial paper program and has successfully rolled over several recent maturities, Moriarty said. In part, Moriarty attributes the success in issuing commercial paper to the utility's strong credit rating.