Nevada residents resist NV Energy's rate hike, demand more renewables - KRNV

Nevada residents resist NV Energy's rate hike, demand more renewables

Ratepayers are asking NV Energy to reverse their rate increase and to allow more growth of renewable energy options in Nevada.

NV Energy’s Northern Nevada utility has proposed raising the monthly basic customer service charge for residential customers from $16.50 to $44.40. If approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, protesters say the roughly 28-dollar increase would be a hard hit to Nevadans and the environment. "It'll make it less likely that people will conserve energy, because more of the more of their payment will be in this base that they the base pay that they have no control over," says NV energy customer, Bari Levinson. "It's very regressive. Lower income people are going to have to pay just as much as I have to pay for their basic energy no matter how much they use, so it's unfair, and it's bad for energy consumption."

After delivering a letter of concern to an NV Energy communications representative, ratepayers who were at the protest Thursday were then asked to leave the building. A copy of the letter is below.

Ratepayers were also given a copy of the following statement from NV Energy.
"NV Energy continues our commitment to delivering an environmentally sustainable energy supply to our customers that balances cost and reliability. Last week, NV Energy made a filing with the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada reporting it had reached an overall renewable portfolio standard (RPS) of 39.7 percent in 2023—this means that NV Energy customers are being served by more renewable energy than ever before and in excess of current state law. The company is ceasing coal operations at North Valmy Generating Station just outside Winnemucca—the company’s final coal plant in the state — by the end of 2025 and today, a ribbon cutting was held in southern Nevada to unveil the company’s Reid Gardner Battery Energy Storage System: A 220-megawatt two-hour grid-tied battery system. This project is the largest company-owned standalone battery project in our portfolio and is built where a former NV Energy coal plant once stood. As we continue to pursue renewable energy solutions decarbonizing our energy supply we also expect NV Energy bills for northern Nevada customers to be about 10 percent lower at the end of 2024 than they were at the end of 2023 and these decreases will continue into 2025."

Protestors tell us that they plan to attend the Public Utilities Commission hearing on June 4th where the commission will hear from ratepayers and customers about the proposed service charge.