General

OPPD, United Way expand ties with Greener Together collaboration

An OPPD program designed to promote community environmental projects is expanding, thanks to a new partnership. 

The Greener Together Program, launched in 2022, allows utility customers to voluntarily contribute to green projects on their monthly bills. Nonprofits apply through the program to receive funding for projects focused on sustainability. 

And now United Way of the Midlands (UWM) is partnering with OPPD to help amplify this initiative. UWM will serve as the administrator of the program, helping OPPD to maximize the program and its benefits.  

 “The Greener Together partnership with OPPD reflects a natural evolution of our longstanding relationship — from supporting individual energy assistance, to making homes safer and more efficient through weatherization,” said Meg Blue, UWM Vice President of Community Investments.  “And now we have a shared investment in programs tied to community resilience.” 

History of collaboration

OPPD and UWM have a long and successful history of working together, said Tim McAreavey, OPPD Vice President of Customer Service. Collaborations include supporting individual energy assistance, working to make homes safer and more efficient through weatherization, and more. 

“We have a shared passion for caring for our communities and helping to ensure the well-being of those we serve,” McAreavey said. “Working together to facilitate Greener Together projects will help us to further advance our decarbonization and energy efficiency goals, which ultimately helps improve the reliability and resiliency of our electric system.”  

Project proposals could include community gardens, composting, solar energy, energy efficiency and tree planting, to name just a few. 

UWM will track the program’s impact, ensuring transparency and measurable results. 

“Through the Greener Together collaboration, we’re working with OPPD to support local nonprofits in building capacity, increasing efficiency and delivering services in smarter, more sustainable ways — helping strengthen the systems we rely on every day,” Blue said.   

Getting involved

Previous Greener Together projects include a program led by Whispering Roots to work with students from grade school through high school on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), sustainability and agricultural fields of study. The nonprofit works with students who live in socially and economically underserved communities. 

Another project, led by Habitat for Humanity of Omaha, focused on helping to reduce utility costs for low-income households. The project provided solar energy for homeowners who otherwise would not be able to afford it. That helped lower their utility bills by reducing their nonrenewable energy consumption. 

The next round of project applications – the first under the new Greener Together collaboration – will be accepted throughout the month of July. To learn more about submitting project proposals, visit UnitedWayMidlands.org/GreenerTogether. To learn more about contributing to the program, visit OPPD’s Greener Together page.