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s the only state in the nation where all the electric utilities are publicly owned, Nebraska consistently offers business and industry some of the lowest rates in the nation. But utilities like Nebraska Public Power District offer businesses something else — professional tools to make the job of a site selector as easy as possible. One of those tools is NPPD's award-winning Web site.
   "We know site selectors require information faster than ever, and they turn to the Internet first," said Jenny Overhue, an economic research specialist with NPPD. "We created sites.nppd.com to house all the data for Nebraska in one place."
   One popular feature on the Web site is a searchable database of available industrial properties in the state. Searchers can locate property by city, county, region or size. Searchers can even learn if a particular site has access to loading docks and cranes, or learn a site's proximity to air, rail and highway transportation. Demographic information is also available, such as labor force availability, per capita income, age, education levels, employment by occupation, employment by industry, and more. Site selectors can request this detailed information for any property, city or county within a selected radius. GIS mapping capabilities, photo images and brochures in PDF format about the properties and communities are also available on the site.

Information most frequently downloaded at sites.nppd.com: Specific building and site data – maps, photos and attributes about the property Economic and demographic data, down to the community level Published industry studies and trend studies Quality of life information

   In addition to the database feature, the Web site contains profiles for every community in the state and facts books, economic and demographic trend studies and Census profiles.
   "Industry opportunity studies are another item on our site, and they are hugely popular," Overhue said.
   The studies compare labor and energy costs in states most likely to have significant production for a given industry.
   "For example a recent study we completed for the food processing industry shows that electric rates in Nebraska are 30 percent lower than the national average," Overhue said.
   In addition to the food processing study, industry studies are available for plastics products, industrial machinery and equipment, and fabricated metal products.
   Overhue said registration is not required to access any of the information at sites.nppd.com.
   "Nebraska is a great place to do business, and we want to share all the relevant information we can with site selectors and others," Overhue said. "The information is free and available to all."

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