Nevada’s state regulators, electric utilities, and several other parties have taken important steps toward satisfactorily resolving state utilities issues. The agreements involve setting new electric rates for customers of Nevada Power Company, restructuring the Nevada utility industry, and resolving other issues from state and federal court cases filed by the utilities.
Like other Western electric utilities, Nevada Power has been forced to pay significantly higher prices for fuel and purchased power, costs it has been unable to recover, while meeting increased electric needs due to abnormally high temperatures in the region. Under the agreement, Nevada Power is allowed to raise its electric rates by about $48 million to recover costs for fuel and purchased power. Industrial and commercial customers will pay 5 to 6 percent higher prices. These rates remain significantly lower than in other regions of the Pacific Southwest. The restructuring agreement also indicates procedures to open Nevada’s retail electric market to competition.
Based on a report from ElectricNet
