Tuesday, July 2, 2002 | 11:15 a.m.
Advocates of publicly owned utilities claim Southern Nevada homeowners' average electric bills could plummet if Clark County pursues a proposal to create its own power company.
Critics, however, argue that investor-owned Nevada Power's troubles were caused by shortages in California, a state where 45 communities own public utilities.
Clark County commissioners this morning were expected to approve a proposal to place an advisory question on November's ballot to ask residents whether they would prefer a public or private power company.
Lawmakers ultimately would decide whether to amend a law to permit jurisdictions to displace Nevada Power and replace it with a municipality. Until the law "sunsets" in 2003, governments wanting their own utility must have permission from the investor-owned provider.
Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates proposed placing an advisory question on the ballot after her office was flooded with calls from residents unable to pay their utility bills. The commissioners said constituents were shocked to learn the board had no authority over the rates.
"They should have a right to have a voice and be a part of the debate when it comes down to the issue of power," Atkinson Gates said this morning.
Commissioner Bruce Woodbury opposed the ballot question this morning, saying it was premature to go to the voters. Woodbury said the county would need to conduct extensive studies to determine whether a public utility would indeed provide lower rates, who would oversee the utility and whether the transition would strip local governments of property taxes.
"The fashionable word these days in government is transparency: being open, fully disclosing, nothing hidden," Woodbury said. "It seems to me this ballot question is not transparent."
Woodbury suggested that voters be given an option to vote yes, no or "don't ask" until the county can provide more information.
If it passes, a proposal to allow public utilities would not go unopposed.
Assemblyman Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, nodded toward California and said the state suffered high rates despite having community-owned utilities.
"Advocates claim without investors we wouldn't have to pay dividends and can operate leaner," Beers said. "I see no way in which the government will manage the delivery of electricity more efficiently than any private sector organization."
According to the American Public Power Association, there are 2,009 publicly owned electric utilities nationwide, 240 investor-owned companies and 894 rural electric cooperatives.
In 2000 the average bill of residents who use investor-owned providers was 16 percent higher than those on publicly owned systems, a report by the group says. Consumers with public power paid 7.3 cents per kilowatt-hour; investor-owned residents paid 8.5 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Clark County residents' average power bill is $96 a month.
Deborah Penn, vice president of information services for the association, said mergers of larger investor-owned companies have affected customer service.
"A publicly owned system keeps better control of the costs; they're local and can watch over them better," Penn said. "They're not torn with investing with lots of other communities."
Jim Spinello, the county's administrative director, said the county took the initial steps in researching how public utilities have benefited cities in Arizona, California and Ohio. Its focus was on the relationship between the utility and the government and which funds were used for the utility.
Spinello said some governments generated power and distributed it, others bought into existing plants and still others simply owned the distribution wires.
"Our analysis has been what's out there, how did it come about and when did it come about," Spinello said. "Before we go further we want to see what the people think about the general concept of getting into the power business."
The county would likely have to spend upwards of $100,000 on consultants to determine how involved the county would become in the business and what type of power it would use, Spinello said.
One issue that may hinder the chances of creating a publicly owned facility if the financial impact on governments. Investor-owned companies, like Nevada Power, pay property taxes and franchise fees.
Penn, however, said publicly owned utilities return a portion of their revenues to the government in lieu of property taxes.
"It's a local decision," she said. "They might take more money out of the utility; you don't want to take too much money or you'll have higher rates again."
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