NV Energy secures new daily demand charges and higher rates
CARSON CITY, NV — Today, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) decided NV Energy’s (Nevada Power) general rate case for Southern Nevada. Instead of delivering relief for families and small businesses, the decision gives the monopoly new ways to raise household costs — including a controversial and untested daily demand charge that will appear on bills starting in April 2026. Sadly, Nevada will be one of the first states where a monopoly, investor-owned utility has imposed this type of demand charge for residential customers.
We are deeply disappointed that Commissioner Tammy Cordova’s draft order was voted on and passed 3-0 with no comment or discussion by the other two Commissioners. A video of the meeting and vote can be found here.
The vote unfolded under unusual circumstances. The PUCN’s website remains down from a cyberattack that blocked access to testimony and evidence. Commissioners William and Brown, along with the public, were given less than 24 hours to review the 185-page draft order before the vote. Commissioner Cordova recognized and apologized for this timeline.
The decision reduces NV Energy’s $224 million request, but Southern Nevadans will still be on the hook for up to $148 million annually in higher charges. For families already struggling with housing, food, and energy bills, another rate hike is one more hit to the household budget.
There are a few limited wins for ratepayers. The decision rejects NV Energy’s push to slash rooftop solar savings for Southern Nevada solar customers, but any relief is overshadowed by the new daily demand charge for all customers, including those with solar, that will raise costs and eat into those savings. It also blocks some of the company’s excessive expenses, signaling that customers should not pay for the utility’s lobbying and corporate perks.
But the losses are significant and costly. The decision allows confusing daily demand charges that punish families, especially rooftop solar customers, based on when they use electricity, making bills even harder to manage. It also authorizes NV Energy to charge customers for some costs related to its multibillion-dollar Greenlink transmission project years before service is delivered — despite the utility’s own misleading claims that costs would not show up until the project was completed. And while Southern Nevadans are spared for now, new rooftop solar customers in northern Nevada (Sierra Pacific Power territory) will face weaker rules that undermine savings and create long-term uncertainty.
This decision comes just months after NV Energy admitted to wrongly billing more than 80,000 customers at least $17 million. Now the monopoly is again extracting more from Nevadans instead of fixing its broken system.
“[This decision] will add daily demand charges to all Clark County households and small businesses,” said Isaias Gallegos, a long-time Las Vegas resident and co-business owner who opposed the rate case in public comments. “Many of us here are already struggling to stay afloat with the downturn of our economy and other factors. This rate would spread our households and businesses even thinner — and even cause us to close. It’s already happening.”
“This is a tough day for affordability and accountability,” said Gariety Pruitt, Utility Watch NV member. “Families are already dealing with unaffordable bills, and NV Energy managed to push through a rate hike for the third year in a row, a confusing new daily demand pricing scheme, and a rollback of solar protections in northern Nevada. Additionally, letting the company recover some of the Greenlink costs early sends the wrong message to NV Energy’s new leadership and rewards their lack of transparency. They should be held to the promises made on the record, no matter who is in charge.”
“This decision is fundamentally unfair to Nevada families who are already struggling to pay their bills,” said Julia Hubbard, Nevada Program Director for Solar United Neighbors. “It penalizes solar customers who want to make smart investments in renewable energy while padding the profits of a utility with a track record of overcharging customers and wasteful spending.
“The PUCN is tasked with the challenging job of regulating our state’s utility monopolies, which are authorized to earn a profit through statute, while ensuring Nevadans pay a fair price for the energy they need,” said Kristee Watson, Executive Director of Nevada Conservation League. “The PUCN’s decision tilts the scale to benefit NV Energy, a subsidiary of the billion-dollar company Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and a company embroiled with too many scandals to count, at the cost of our friends, family, neighbors, and communities.”
“Families in my community have taken hit after hit by high NV Energy bills — from disconnection fears to sweltering in over-heated homes,” said Dr. Mary L. House, CEO of CHR, Inc. “This decision is too risky and allows for an untested demand charge that could raise our bills again. Nevadans simply cannot afford higher bills. Period.”
Commissioner Cordova noted that the Clark County general consumer session will be rescheduled soon and encouraged customers to attend.
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About Utility Watch Nevada
Utility Watch Nevada is a project of community and conservation organizations in Nevada. https://utilitywatchnv.org/
