Editorial: Electric bills to go up, up, up

But the denial in February didn't daunt Sierra Pacific Resources, the parent company of Nevada Power. The company not only filed a lawsuit to overturn the regulators' decision, but the company also sought to throw out as unconstitutional the state's deregulation law. The legal gambit paid off. Regulators backed away from their earlier opposition and approved a deal to the utility's liking -- much to the chagrin of residential customers. Adding salt to the wound was news this week that the severance package for Sierra Pacific Resources Chairman Michael Niggli, who resigned one day after the commission approved the rate increase, could be as high as $2.5 million.

When the 1999 Legislature added the final touches to electric industry deregulation, there was supposed to be a rate freeze for three years to help ease the introduction of competition into what had been a government-regulated monopoly. But the commission's decision last week ignored that guarantee. Deregulation once offered promise, but that outlook sure isn't as bright for residential customers.

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