NPPD’s Board of Directors approved funding in the fall of 2008 for construction of a new customer service/operations facility in Norfolk to enhance customer service and gain operational efficiencies.
The new facility will consolidate four separate locations into one:
Customer service and billing office (Fourth and Madison)
- Distribution facility (Eighth and Madison)
- Transmission facility (Omaha Avenue)
- Northwestern Street pole yard
The Norfolk Operations Center will be built on the southeast edge of the city, just north of Omaha Avenue, between Pine St. and Chestnut St. The new building and storage yard will be located west of and adjacent to NPPD’s existing Centralized Customer Care Center.
The building will provide approximately 42,000 square feet for vehicle and equipment storage and 45,000 square feet for administration/office space (operations, clerical and customer service). That translates to room for 93 employees and 50 vehicles, trailers and other related equipment.
NPPD’s new facility will incorporate green or sustainable construction, operation and maintenance features. To facilitate the process and certify that the Norfolk Operations Center will be a “green building,” NPPD will design and construct it to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) criteria. LEED is a third-party certification program, and the nationally accepted benchmark for design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings.
In addition to attaining LEED certification, plans indicate NPPD’s Norfolk Operations Center will highlight renewable energy generation and public education. Three small wind-powered generators and a small photovoltaic array (electric energy from sunlight) will serve as onsite public demonstration displays, and an energy education exhibit will be housed in the new facility. Stations to “refuel” future NPPD plug-in vehicles will also be developed.
