Group aims to bust NV Energy monopoly
By Anjeanette Damon | February 4, 2016 A new coalition has filed an initiative petition to deregulate Nevada’s energy market, a move that would essentially break NV Energy’s monopoly on electricity service. The petition would amend the state constitution to allow Nevada customers “the right to choose their service provider from an open retail market based upon […]
Constitutional amendment filed to break NV Energy monopoly
By Jon Ralston| February 3, 2016 “An open, competitive retail electric energy market” by 2023. Filed today by broad coalition, I’m told, not ready to put themselves out there yet. Read all about it. (Read More)
Reid: Nevada must accept assistance for copper pit cleanup
By Senator Harry Reid | February 3, 2016 For many decades, the Anaconda Copper Pit in Yerington has sat as an abandoned cesspool full of toxic substances – a dangerous and unwelcome burden for the people who live and work nearby. The federal government has long offered help in cleaning this highly contaminated site, but the […]
3 takeaways: NV Energy’s solar-rate proposal sets stage for more heated debate
By Daniel Rothberg| February 2, 2016 When NV Energy announced last week that it would introduce a proposal allowing existing solar customers to keep a prior rate structure for a period of up to 20 years, many took it as a sign that existing solar customers would be shielded from bill increases approved by regulators […]
Push made to prohibit utilities from retroactively penalizing solar customers
By Sean Whaley| February 2, 2016 CARSON CITY — A coalition of rooftop solar companies on Tuesday urged the U.S. Senate to adopt an amendment to an energy bill that would give states the authority to prohibit monopoly utilities from retroactively penalizing customers who invest in solar. The amendment to the Senate energy bill is […]
Nevada’s Solar Bait-and-Switch
By Jacques Leslie| February 1, 2016 WHEN President Obama proclaimed in his State of the Union address last month that “solar is saving Americans tens of millions of dollars a year on their energy bills,” he clearly wasn’t talking about Nevada. In late December, the state’s Public Utilities Commission, which regulates Nevada’s energy market, announced a […]
Net metering rules may change Nevada’s green energy strategy
By Sean Whaley | January 31, 2016 CARSON CITY — Nevada government and business leaders may have to shift at least part of their established economic development focus from renewable energy to other opportunities if new net metering rules drive the rooftop-solar business out of Nevada as predicted by industry officials. Rooftop solar was only […]
Nevada hunters give thumbs-down to drones, electronic guns
By Alex Corey | January 31, 2016 Big game hunters want you to leave the drones at home. The buzzing bots are quickly invading nearly every aspect of American life as people find uses for them in photography, surveying and now hunting. On Friday, the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners took public comment on a proposal […]
Little-known conservation district studies tax increase
By Bethany Barnes| January 31, 2016 Until recently, the Southern Nevada Conservation District has flown mostly under the radar. That low profile is about to change, though, now that the seven-member board has the power to ask voters to consider a tax increase. That power has the business community and elected officials asking questions about […]
Civil War on Your Rooftop
By Carl Pope | January 29, 2016 The fierce counterattack by utilities against the disruptive surge of roof-top solar peaked this month on the West Coast. California’s big utilities successfully petitioned for increased “exit fees” for cities or counties leaving the utility to purchase electricity for their residents on the open market — typically obtaining […]