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Carson City, Nev. - In a draft order that would reduce NV Energy’s requested rate increase by more than a third, Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) Commissioner Tammy Cordova proposes reducing per-kilowatt-hour rates and adopting a new “daily demand charge” for residential and small business customers that would lower bills for most customers of NV Energy.
The draft order concludes that most of NV Energy’s customers are paying more than their fair share to maintain the electric system, and it finds that the proposed demand charge would result in customer bills that align more closely with ratepayer use of the electric system. The demand charge would be included as a separate component in monthly bills. It would be based on the maximum amount that a ratepayer uses the electric system each day, creating an opportunity for residential and small business customers to lower their bills by spreading out their energy usage and avoiding simultaneous operation of numerous appliances. Large businesses already pay a demand charge. However, even if a customer is unable to prevent instances of high energy usage, the demand charge is designed “to avoid punishing customers for high usage at a single point during a month.” The draft order explains that the intent is to enable many of Nevada Power’s residential customers to experience lower bills without reducing their energy usage.
The draft order further explains that the daily demand charge is a more effective and equitable approach when compared to an increase to the Basic Service Charge, which NV Energy has proposed in the past to recover costs of service that are not currently being collected from all customers through per-kilowatt-hour rates. The draft order finds that the evidence presented in NV Energy’s pending general rate case, in PUCN Docket No. 25-02016, suggests that the daily demand charge will lower power bills for nearly all of NV Energy’s customers, even for those who do not proactively manage their energy usage, while introducing a valuable ability for price-sensitive residential and small business customers to attain additional savings.
The proposed demand charge would not go into effect until April 2026, allowing NV Energy to prepare its billing systems and provide educational materials to ratepayers to explain the new charge.
The PUCN will vote on whether to approve the draft order at a meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025.
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