NV Energy launches "Daily Demand" customer education campaign
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — NV Energy is rolling out a new customer education campaign ahead of its new billing plan known as “Daily Demand.”
The reason, according to company officials, is to put a stop to a lot of misinformation about a new line item you’ll see on your bill when Daily Demand takes effect on January 1, 2027.
The new consumer education plan is being launched online to help customers understand how Daily Demand is going to work.
NV Energy’s priority is to make sure everyone knows Daily Demand is not a rate increase for most of its customers. One possible exception, however, is NV Energy customers who have rooftop solar.
“You know, we fully understand that this is a complicated issue, and it’s been made more complicated by a lot of misinformation that’s out,” said Justin Hopkins, spokesman for NV Energy. “Let’s be clear: Daily Demand is not a rate increase,” Hopkins added. “It is revenue neutral, meaning NV Energy is not going to collect additional money because of the change. What daily demand is — is just a restructuring of how bills are calculated.”
Hopkins says that restructuring follows extensive review by the Public Utilities Commission. He says it was also upheld by two courts, including one which said it was a more fair billing structure for 100-percent of NV Energy’s customers.
As part of the education campaign, NV Energy has added new features to its website so customers can compare their annual cost under current rates and compare them to 2027 under Daily Demand.
The web tools even break down power use by individual appliances in your home so customers can find ways to save.
Hopkins says the greater fairness in rate design was achieved by Daily Demand addressing long-held concerns about cost shifts between certain customer groups, including those using solar.
“The structure is designed to reduce the subsidy non-rooftop solar customers are currently paying for rooftop solar customers, and better align electric rates with the cost of providing reliable service to all customers,” Hopkins said. “Essentially, we are making a more equitable billing structure.”
Unfortunately, rooftop solar users are realizing their bills could go up.
“I went and testified at the PUC in meetings and stuff like that, and I wanted to have data in which to real numbers to present to them ,” said Brian Dodd, a former nuclear safety expert at the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Dodd invested over $20-thousand in rooftop solar panels in 2015 as a way to keep his power bills low when he decided to retire.
After painstaking record keeping and analysis, Dodd determined his power bills will likely go up between $20 and $20 a month, or $342 to $567 annually.
“What I did is take the current rules and applied them the best I could for my long-term benefit, and now they’re changing the rules to penalize me because I made a good choice about planning for my future,” said Dodd, adding, “It’s unfair.”
Another misconception NV Energy wants to address is ensuring customers won’t be penalized for doing normal things after they get home from work, like running the air conditioner or dishwasher.
Instead, they encourage customers to use the new online tools to see if there might be times when you use more power for things like charging an EV, and begin doing it overnight for energy savings.