Dive Brief:
- NV Energy has pledged to start a green pricing program as part of a set of agreements that are designed to smooth the path for the company's merger with MidAmerican Energy Holdings, owned by Warren Buffett.
- NV Energy, based in Las Vegas, also agreed to stick to a schedule for retiring a 557-MW coal-fired plant and exiting its stake in another coal-fired plant. The utility agreed to consider replacing some of the coal-fired generation with at least 200 MW of renewables.
- NV Energy will “reasonably evaluate” power purchase agreements in future resource plans so state regulators can compare those options against proposals for the utility to build its own power plants.
Dive Insight:
Several of the agreements NV Energy and MidAmerican have made this month to gain support for their $5.6 billion deal will affect the utility's power supply and amount of renewable generation that could be added in Nevada.
The agreement with the Sierra Club ensures that NV Energy will exit nearly all of its coal-fired power plants by the end of the decade as envisioned under a Nevada bill passed earlier this year. Sierra Club had been concerned that the deal could scuttle NV Energy's plans to slash its coal generation. The utility may also add more renewable generation to its system than expected while giving independent power producers a chance to compete for building more power plants in the state.
The issue with renewables is important because NV Energy earlier this month also said it planned to join an energy imbalance market being developed by the California Independent System Operator (ISO). PacifiCorp, owned by MidAmerican, is working with the ISO on the market, which will help to integrate variable renewable generation onto the grid.
The Nevada Public Utilities Commission will hold hearings this week on the proposed deal and related agreements.
