Monday, Aug. 21, 2017 | 1:45 p.m.
CARSON CITY — NV Energy says a bill passed by the 2017 Legislature may mean higher-than-necessary power bills for its customers.
The concerns are expressed in prefiled testimony presented to the state Public Utilities Commission, which today began an expected three-day hearing on changing rates to promote solar energy.
The utility has presented a plan to change the rates for customers in Southern and Northern Nevada.
The PUC has until Sept. 1 to approve, revise or reject the rates.
Solar advocates have opposed recommendations from NV Energy.
NV Energy says the legislation is aimed at creating a combined rate for all customers — solar and nonsolar.
In Southern Nevada, the basic service charge for a nonsolar residential customer is $12.75 a month. Under the combined rate system, it would rise to $16.57 a month. Solar customers now pay a basic service charge of $17.95.
Residential customers without solar, who are now charged 0.10815 per kilowatt hour, would see that rate decrease to 0.10525 per kilowatt hour. A residential customer with a solar unit now pays $0.10593, and that would drop to the same $0.10525 under the combined rate.
The company proposes solar customers receive a credit for returned power of between 75 and 95 percent of the kilowatt price of electricity supplied by the utility.
NV Energy said it will not receive any increased revenue from the proposed changes in the basic service charge.
PUC Chairman Joe Reynolds is conducting the hearing, and the three-member commission is expected to meet Aug. 31 to make a decision.
NV Energy, in its prehearing testimony, said the impact of net metering — or offering credits to power returned to the grid — on customers is still unknown. “Certain customers with private generation (solar) are receiving services for which they are not paying full cost of service which in turn results in other customers having to pick up the cost,” the utility said.
Bing Young, senior regulatory analyst for the state Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in prefiled testimony that all customers should be treated the same.
