Lincoln Electric System (LES) Data Access Guide
Lincoln Electric System (LES) is a municipal, customer-owned electric utility serving roughly 155,000 retail customers (about 137,000 residential and 18,000 commercial) in Lincoln, Nebraska. As public power, LES has no retail supplier choice; it is among the lowest-priced utilities nationally but offers limited programmatic data access (PDF billing portal, AMR meters, no Green Button or API).
How to Get Your Lincoln Electric System (LES) Data: All Access Methods
| Method | 1st Party | 3rd Party | Customer Types | Data Types | Latency | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MyAccount Portal | ✓ | — | All | Billing, monthly usage | Monthly | PDF, on-screen |
| Manual PDF + authorization | ✓ | ✓ | All | Billing, monthly usage | Manual | |
| Nectar API (third-party) | — | ✓ | All | Billing, monthly usage | Provider-dependent | API (JSON) |
Billing Data Access
LES provides billing access through its online customer portal where customers view and manage bills. Export is limited to PDF (via browser print); there is no CSV, XML, or structured API. At least 12 months of billing history is available.
What Data Is on Your Lincoln Electric System (LES) Bill
- Current and historical bills
- Monthly energy usage (kWh)
- Bill due dates and amounts
- Payment history
- Account status and service-address info
How to Download Lincoln Electric System (LES) Bills (Business & Commercial)
- 01Log into myaccount.les.com/portal/ (portal supports managing multiple accounts)
- 02Open Billing to view monthly bills and usage
- 03Save bills as PDF via browser print
- 04For structured data, contact Business Services at 402.475.4211
- 05Provide signed customer authorization for any special data export
How to Download Lincoln Electric System (LES) Bills (Residential)
- 01Go to myaccount.les.com/portal/ and select language
- 02Click 'Don't have an account?' and enter account number (no leading zeros) and service-address ZIP
- 03Create username and password (12-32 chars: upper, lower, number, special, no spaces)
- 04Log in and open the Billing section
- 05Select a month, then use browser Print > Save as PDF
Third-Party Access to Lincoln Electric System (LES) Billing Data
Manual customer-provided PDFs
- 01Customer downloads bills as PDFs from the portal
- 02Customer shares PDFs with the third party via secure file transfer
- 03Include a signed authorization letter
- 04Third party manually parses/OCRs as needed
Direct request to LES (ad hoc)
- 01Contact LES Business Services at 402.475.4211
- 02Explain data need; provide signed customer authorization
- 03LES may provide a custom export (no formal program; outcome variable)
Want to understand the charges on your bill?
See the Lincoln Electric System (LES) Rate Schedules & Tariff Guide →Interval Data & Smart Meters
LES deployed Itron Automated Meter Reading (AMR) in 2015-2017 (100,000+ meters) but does NOT have AMI. No interval data (15-min, 30-min, or hourly) is available to customers. Only monthly usage is exposed through the portal. Note: LES large C&I demand schedules bill on 30-minute maximum demand measured at the meter, but this demand data is not provided to customers as interval data.
How to Download Lincoln Electric System (LES) Interval Data via Green Button
- 01Green Button is not implemented — no DMD or CMD
- 02No interval data is available at any granularity
- 03For analysis, use monthly portal data or request a custom export from LES
Interval data is essential for rate comparison and TOU analysis.
See which Lincoln Electric System (LES) rate schedule is best for your usage pattern →Third-Party API Access
LES has no Share My Data program, third-party authorization portal, or public API. Third-party access via the utility itself is manual: customers download PDFs and share them with a signed authorization. Nectar provides API access to LES billing data — see docs.nectarclimate.com. Custom API development could be requested from LES directly but approval is uncertain for a utility this size.
How to Register as a Lincoln Electric System (LES) API Vendor
- 01Use Nectar's API to retrieve LES billing data with customer authorization (see docs.nectarclimate.com)
- 02Otherwise, collect customer-downloaded PDFs with a signed authorization
- 03For ongoing/automated access direct from LES, contact LES Business Services to propose a custom arrangement (uncertain)
EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)
How to Enroll in Lincoln Electric System (LES) EDI
- 01Not available — LES does not support EDI
- 02No 814/810/867/820 transactions or trading-partner program exist
- 03For data exchange, contact LES Business Services to discuss alternatives
Sources
Rate Schedules & Tariff Analysis
LES C&I rates are demand-driven with a strong summer/winter energy split. Demand charges range from $14.50/kW (GS-Demand) to $17.75/kW (Large Light and Power). The TOU Demand option meaningfully discounts off-peak demand ($4.50/kW vs $13.00/kW on-peak), rewarding load shifting. Billing demand is the higher of actual 30-minute max demand, 65% of the prior summer peak (ratchet), or the schedule minimum. Excess kVAR is charged above a 93% power factor on large schedules.
Lincoln Electric System (LES) Rate Schedule List
| Schedule | Applicability |
|---|---|
| General Service-Demand (11 & 12) | Demand-metered commercial; 25 kW minimum billing demand. |
| Large Light and Power (15/16/39) | Industrial > 400 kW; excess-kVAR charges apply. |
| LLP Time-of-Use Demand (30/31/32) | Industrial with shiftable load; on/off-peak demand pricing. |
Lincoln Electric System (LES) Rate Features & TOU Details
- Demand charges $14.50-$17.75/kW (secondary)
- Strong summer/winter energy split
- 65% summer demand ratchet
- TOU Demand option discounts off-peak demand
- Excess kVAR charge above 0.93 power factor on LLP
For a deeper analysis including cost optimization strategies and historical rate trends:
Read the full Lincoln Electric System (LES) Rate Optimization Guide →Other Data Access Programs
Sustainable Energy Program / Energy Efficiency
LES manages demand-side and energy-efficiency programs internally via the energyOrbit platform. Customers enroll directly with LES; third parties cannot independently access customer data through it.
- 01Contact LES Energy Services
- 02Enroll in applicable efficiency/incentive programs
- 03LES administers data internally
Renewable / Virtual Solar options
LES offers a virtual solar program and Renewable Generation Rate options for customers wanting renewable supply; no programmatic third-party data access is provided.
- 01Review renewable options at les.com
- 02Enroll through LES directly
Limitations & Considerations
- ⚠No interval/AMI data — monthly usage only (Itron AMR).
- ⚠No Green Button DMD or CMD; no ESPI.
- ⚠No public API or developer portal.
- ⚠No EDI support or trading-partner program.
- ⚠PDF-only billing export; no CSV/XML/JSON.
- ⚠No formal third-party data-access or Share My Data program.
- ⚠No native data-aggregator partnerships; Nectar provides API access to LES billing data — see docs.nectarclimate.com.
Lincoln Electric System (LES) Data Access FAQ
Can my consultant get interval (15-minute) data for a load study?▾
No. LES uses Itron AMR, not AMI, so no interval data exists at any granularity. Only monthly usage (kWh) is available. Demand-metered C&I schedules bill on a 30-minute maximum demand internally, but that data is not exposed to customers. Consultants must work from monthly bill PDFs or request a custom export from LES Business Services at 402.475.4211.
Does LES support Green Button or a data API for our facilities?▾
No. LES does not implement Green Button (DMD or CMD), ESPI, EDI, or any public API/developer portal. Billing data is PDF-only. For automated third-party access, Nectar provides API access to LES billing data (see docs.nectarclimate.com); otherwise share customer-downloaded PDFs under a signed authorization.
Can we choose a competitive electricity supplier?▾
No. Nebraska is a 100% public power state with no retail choice. LES is a not-for-profit municipal utility; all customers are served on LES's local rate schedules set by the Administrative Board and City Council.
What rate schedule applies to a demand-metered commercial site?▾
Sites exceeding 25,000 kWh per billing period or 100 kW summer demand move to General Service-Demand (schedules 11 & 12), which carries a $25.00/bill customer charge, $14.50/kW secondary demand charge, and $0.0277 (summer) / $0.0250 (winter) per-kWh energy charge, with a 25 kW minimum billing demand. See the LES rate schedules for full terms.
How are large industrial sites billed at LES?▾
Loads over 400 kW (and under 20,000 kW) on Large Light and Power (15/16/39) pay a $450/bill customer charge, $17.75/kW secondary demand charge, and ~$0.0255/$0.0245 per-kWh (summer/winter) energy, plus excess-kVAR charges. A Time-of-Use Demand option (30/31/32) splits on-peak ($13.00/kW) and off-peak ($4.50/kW) demand for sites that can shift load.
The Best Way to Access Data from Lincoln Electric System (LES)
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