LINCOLN — Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers sued the Omaha Public Power District on Thursday, seeking to stop a plan to retire three of five power-producing units at the utility’s North Omaha Station and switch the other two coal-fired units to natural gas.

The 46-page lawsuit, filed in Douglas County District Court, seeks to stop the changes planned for the North Omaha Station, as well as prevent OPPD from pursuing any policy that prioritizes considerations other than price or reliability, including “environmental justice.” Residents had fought to get OPPD to modify the plant, citing health concerns.

Hilgers said data doesn’t support the assertion that the plant harms neighbors’ health. In a midday announcement, he said he wants to focus the publicly owned utility on what he says state law requires: reliability and affordability. He said OPPD’s plan for the North Omaha plant would retire 240 megawatts of electricity production as OPPD sees skyrocketing increases in demand. Though the local power district’s plan says moving forward is contingent on opening new power-generation facilities this year, Hilgers said the changes wouldn’t add power capacity and would only help OPPD “tread water.”

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