Dive Summary:

• NV Energy, a major private-owned utility in Nevada, has saved residents nearly $500 million through energy efficiency programs in the last five years. (That’s equivalent to the electricity used in more than 34,000 Nevada homes, and NV Energy has spent $267 million on energy efficiency initiatives in that time period.)
• Former public utility commissioner Fred Schmidt heralds this achievement but questions the absence of energy efficiency programs from NV Energy’s blueprint for future investment called NVision.
• NV Energy plans to retire older coal plants and build new power plants, but this may prove to be a peril for customers accustomed to lowest-cost-to-customer policy making.

From the article:

“This glaring omission can and should be corrected by the Legislature. If the Legislature chooses to establish its own plan for Nevada’s energy future rather than relying on the expertise of the Public Utility Commission, it should direct NV Energy to meet strong yet achievable Energy Efficiency Standards. This is especially important if energy efficiency credits are phased out of Nevada’s current Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard, as is being considered by the Legislature. In addition, the utility should be directed to maximize adoption of cost-effective energy efficiency resources before it receives approval to invest in more costly supply-side resources.”