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March 19, 2024

Solar company alleges cronyism between Sandoval administration, NV Energy

NV Energy Solar Protest Rally

John Locher / AP

Protesters chant during a rally in front of NV Energy on Wednesday, April 22, 2015, in Las Vegas. Hundreds of activists gathered outside NV Energy headquarters in Las Vegas to protest a state cap affecting rooftop solar installations and urge the Legislature to lift it.

Updated Tuesday, July 21, 2015 | 1:54 p.m.

Members of the rooftop solar industry have filed a public records request with the governor's administration, which they hope will uncover untoward ties between it and NV Energy. The request, filed by rooftop solar company Sunrun, asks for all communications between Gov. Brian Sandoval, his top aides and NV Energy’s 11 lobbyists during and following this year's legislative session.

“Six thousand Nevadans employed by solar companies are now caught in the crosshairs of Sandoval's political cronyism,” Bryan Miller, vice president of public policy and power markets with Sunrun, said. "If Sandoval has nothing to hide, he should immediately produce the records.”

In a statement the Governor's Office confirmed it received the request from Sunrun and said it would respond according to public records laws.

"Governor Sandoval has consistently emphasized accountability and transparency in his administration as part of his commitment to building an efficient and responsive state government,” the statement said.

Sunrun’s request is the latest in the ongoing debate about a policy called net metering, which gives consumers a credit on their electric bills for powering the grid with rooftop solar panels. NV Energy says that credit costs the company and ratepayers millions every year, while solar companies say that solar power provides the utility with renewable energy that reduces the burden on the state’s grid and cuts fossil fuel emissions.

In the final days of the session, Sandoval brokered a deal between the power company and the solar industry to create what’s become known as the solar cap, a policy that restricts the number of megawatts of new solar power that can be installed in the state. In July, NV Energy told solar companies the limits would be met far sooner than they had been expected during the legislative session. The solar cap is likely to be hit by mid-August. NV Energy had previously said the limit would not be met until March 2016.

Rooftop companies like Sunrun and SolarCity fear maxing out the cap will cause uncertainty for their industry — which has grown by 1,000 percent in the last year and currently has around 3,000 net metering customers in the state.

They also are worried about close ties between the governor and the power company. Two of the governor’s advisers are NV Energy lobbyists. In the 1990s, Sandoval was legal counsel for the Utility Shareholders of Nevada — an advocacy group that represents the interests of stockholders for companies like NV Energy.

Read the request below.

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