Nebraskaâs publicly owned utilities generated more power than their customers used during this weekâs brutal cold snap in the countryâs midsection. But energy experts say the targeted rolling blackouts criticized by Gov. Pete Ricketts prevented Nebraska and other states from catastrophic failure of a shared electricity grid. Those cuts, dictated by the Arkansas-based Southwest Power Pool, likely prevented Nebraskans from living the nightmare facing Texas, where millions went without power for days. The World-Herald spoke with energy experts, utility leaders and others about what happened, why it happened and what might prevent a repeat occurrence. Why did Nebraska have rolling blackouts?