LAS VEGAS, NV — Today, the Nevada Conservation League, Chispa Nevada, and CHR, Inc. (Caring, Helping and Restoring Lives) attended NV Energy’s Consumer Session along with other stakeholders and customers to give public input on the NV Energy’s 2024 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). This IRP will be critical for determining the state’s energy future, and customers continue to demand more clean, affordable, reliable electric service.
This consumer session is required under Assembly Bill 524, which was passed by the Legislature in 2023 to increase transparency and strengthen this planning process. Unfortunately, NV Energy only provided the community with 6 days’ notice of this meeting, making it harder for meaningful participation. The utility’s presentation was also light on details, only providing a high level overview of the IRP components. Participants in the consumer session overwhelmingly expressed opposition to the construction of new fossil fuel generation, support for robust clean energy, and called for more notice and greater transparency moving forward.
Despite NV Energy’s frequent proclamations of a commitment to reach 100 percent clean energy, their actions speak differently. The utility noted in their presentation that no resources are proposed to move the state closer to its 100 percent goal by 2050. NV Energy has also added nearly 800 MW of new and expanded gas power generation since 2018, with more proposed in the pending fifth amendment to their 2021 IRP. With more than half of the state’s energy coming from gas,Nevada is more exposed and dependent on a single, out-of-state fuel source, and vulnerable to wild swings in electric bills. As NV Energy touts cheaper clean energy for its large customers, Nevada families and small businesses are struggling and want to share in the benefits of low-cost, pollution-free electricity. So far, the utility has not demonstrated leadership in advancing transparency, collaboration, or forward-thinking resource planning, and as a result both customers and the climate are paying the price.
The utility’s next Integrated Resource Plan is due later this year, and these advocates are emphasizing NV Energy’s responsibility to provide a transparent and comprehensive plan that aligns with state clean energy and climate objectives, promotes environmental justice, and leverages federal clean energy funding to provide the best electric service at the least cost for customers. This has been outlined further in a recent op-ed from NCL Executive Director Kristee Watson.
“The next IRP is due this year and we cannot afford to miss this moment for clean energy because of poor planning and self-interest on the part of our electric utility,” said Kristee Watson, Executive Director of the Nevada Conservation League. “Better planning and more transparency will result in better decisions that benefit Nevada’s families, businesses, and environment. That’s why we’re calling on NV Energy to step up and deliver on its promises of stable, affordable, clean power for all Nevadans — our future depends on it.”
“Like many NV Energy customers, we were surprised to receive an email last week of a consumer session today on the utility’s Integrated Resource Plan — the most important utility plan for the future of energy in Nevada,” said Audrey Peral, Program Director for Chispa Nevada. “Not only is NV Energy failing to conduct adequate community engagement, they are also ignoring consumer demands for lower rates and more investments in clean energy. We urge the PUCN to hold NV Energy accountable to a more transparent and community-centered process for utility planning.”
“I have borne witness to the hardships and inequity caused by soaring energy bills. Families and small businesses in Nevada are bearing the brunt of NV Energy’s resource planning decisions, and they deserve a voice in the process and a genuine commitment to affordable, clean energy solutions,” said Dr. Mary House, CEO of CHR, Inc. “NV Energy’s actions, including the inadequate notice and lack of information prior to this crucial meeting, starkly contrast with the needs of their customers. We demand that the utility responds to our repeated calls for a resource-planning process that includes the voices of all its customers, especially those most affected by their actions.”
Learn more about AB 524 here.
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