September 17, 2024
CARSON CITY, Nev. – In a significant win for Nevadans, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada today rejected a proposed $28.80 increase to the monthly basic service charge on Sierra Pacific Power Company’s residential energy bills, instead adopting an increase of just $2.
The utility’s basic service charge on residential customer bills is currently $16.50, and the company – NV Energy’s Northern Nevada utility – initially proposed raising it to $45.30. This would have been the nation’s highest service charge from an investor-owned utility.
A basic service charge is a fixed monthly fee paid by utility customers regardless of their actual energy consumption. While low-income customers consume less electricity on average than others, fixed charges on power bills hit these households the hardest, raising power bills significantly for the most energy insecure customers.
A higher basic service charge would have taken control away from customers in Northern Nevada to manage their energy bills and virtually remove incentives to reduce energy use. WRA has advocated for lower basic service charges and smart time of use rate design across our region, and our expert staff played a significant role in this positive development in Nevada.
We applaud the Commission for holding the line and denying NV Energy’s near-tripling of the basic service charge on monthly residential customer bills. Energy demand is expected to increase dramatically in the years ahead. NV Energy should shelve any future moves to increase the fixed charge on customer bills and instead focus on smart rate designs that best manage and meet demand.
NV Energy is the state’s largest utility and provides electricity to 328,000 households in Northern Nevada. The new rate for Sierra Pacific Power customers will begin Oct. 1.
In another win for Nevadans, the Commission agreed to adopt WRA’s recommendation to modify the Company’s peak period on its time of use rate, shortening it to a three-hour peak period, 6-9 p.m., from the current six-hour peak period, 3-9 p.m.
Time of use rates adjust the cost of electricity throughout the day and, with good opt-in rates, help shift customer energy usage to times when more renewable energy is available. Cost-conscious consumers can benefit from this system by intentionally shifting energy use away from peak hours, yielding lower energy bills with the bonus that the energy used in those hours results in fewer emissions. Widespread adoption of well-designed time of use rates is a key tool in increasing the use of renewable energy and meeting ambitious climate, energy, and environmental goals.
Media Contact:
James Quirk, 908-902-3177, james.quirk@westernresources.org
