January 9, 2024
CARSON CITY, NEVADA – Nevada’s first consumer session, required by a new law (AB 524) to give local community members a chance to participate and provide input on the integrated planning process, will take place Jan. 10. Despite calls from legislators for utilities to increase transparency and public involvement in their planning processes, NV Energy has given scant notice for stakeholders to take part in the session.
Integrated resource planning, or IRP, is the forum in which a utility identifies the resources it needs to reliably serve customer energy demand in the coming years. The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) of Nevada also approves new resource applications through the IRP process. On Jan. 4, just six days before the state’s first consumer session, NV Energy sent an email to stakeholders notifying them of the meeting. The session has no agenda, and no advance materials have been distributed.
This consumer session is supposed to be the opportunity for meaningful stakeholder participation before an IRP is filed. Yet NV Energy has chosen to do the bare minimum. Given the short notice the utility provided, it will be very difficult for stakeholders to engage in this important process.
Public participation in the IRP process is a common practice in many states and is designed to allow stakeholder engagement before a resource plan is filed. But in Nevada, the public is not meaningfully involved in the development of resource plans. Any interested party could only express their concerns with planned utility developments after they are presented (and often approved) to the PUC. Historically, this has allowed the public little or no opportunity to voice concerns about potentially polluting energy infrastructure that may operate next to their neighborhoods.
AB 524, which was passed during the 2023 legislative session, was intended to change this. The law requires NV Energy to hold at least one consumer session four months before the resource plan is filed for approval to allow interested persons to learn about the utility’s progress in developing the plan and offer suggestions on how the plan is begin developed.
It’s disappointing to see NV Energy continue to minimize the public’s ability to take part in the process that determines what resources customers will pay for moving forward and how quickly the utility plans to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions. With such short notice and lack of information, it’s almost impossible for stakeholders to accomplish the intended goals of this consumer session.
WRA and other groups have offered recommendations to the commission requesting that utilities conduct at least four sessions with relevant information provided far enough in advance so individuals can come prepared to ask questions and provide feedback.
Contact:
James Quirk, 908-902-3177, james.quirk@westernresources.org
