Statement: Community Groups are Committed to Fighting the Daily Demand Charge
Community groups are committed to fighting the daily demand charge and issued the following statements.
Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition
Community groups are committed to fighting the daily demand charge and issued the following statements.

When given the opportunity to take a public stance on the controversial NV Energy rate scheme set to go into effect next year, seven state lawmakers on Tuesday opted to say nothing at all.

Three governor-appointed commissioners approved NV Energy’s new peak demand charge. Now the attorney general and solar advocates are fighting it in court.

The Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition slammed the PUCN on June 16 after people were shut out of a hearing on NV Energy’s controversial daily demand charge. Only 50 people were allowed to attend. The group cited a pattern of obstruction and said they were documenting the problem, listing some of their complaints:

“If this new charge is too complicated for the utility company to calculate our bills after nine months, how could ratepayers ever expect to reasonably predict our own bills?” asked Jackie Spicer of the Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition.

“We are asking the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada to be accessible and accountable to the public they claim to serve,” Jackie Spicer of the Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition said in a statement to the Current. “By leaving residents outside in triple-digit heat, including elders and people with health issues, the Commissioners are making it clear they do not care about residents.”

“This proposal should be viewed in the context of a rapidly expanding data center industry in our state, not as a single isolated building,” said Jackie Spicer with the Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition. NV Energy, she noted, is considering building new natural gas plants to keep up with energy demand driven in part by data centers.

Consumer advocates in Southern Nevada are pushing for long-term solutions to bring down the cost of utilities for local residents.

A Nevada utility company is arguing a new energy charge won’t increase monthly bills and possibly might lower them, but some Las Vegas customers aren’t buying the argument and instead are telling NV Energy to see them in court.

Community leaders, residents gather at Clark County Library to discuss keeping power bills low