NV Energy subsidiary pushes to invest more in natural gas in IRP

Dive Brief:

NV Energy's subsidary Sierra Pacific Power proposed a plan to acquire a Calpine combined cycle plant based in Arizona for $76 million, with plans to invest $21 million in the the facility and a proposal to spend $39.9 million on energy efficiency program, according to its Integrated Resource Plan filed with Nevada officials last week, Las Vegas Sun reports.
The plan also includes a bid for more time to provide the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada an analysis of the environmental and economic impacts of renewable resources, which was required by a procedural order issued by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) earlier this year.
The utility said natural gas prices have decreased significantly, as well as the cost of large-scale solar, but critics said the amount allotted for efficiency should be expanded in addition to more investment in renewables.

Dive Insight:

The Las Vegas Sun reported on the utility's 1,000-page application, where NV Energy said its plan "is being filed at a time of rapid change in the electric energy industry." But with gas prices depressed, "short-run wholesale electric prices are projected to remain low.”

From the utility's perspective, the 550-megawatt South Point Energy Center is needed to serve its operations in Nevada. With gas prices expected to remain low and significant change on the horizon, Sierra Pacific Power says its plan makes sense.

Efficiency spending will be $12.8 million in 2017 and higher in 2018 and 2019. The utility's request of roughly $40 million is in line with what regulators approved last year, which was $16 million higher. While critics have pushed for more investment in efficiency, regulators last year cut the utility's efficiency budget from a proposed $56 million to $41 million.

PUCN Chairman Paul Thomsen told Utility Dive earlier that Sierra Pacific's much anticipated IRP would set the stage for a deeper discussion in the future of distributed energy resources in the state. Nevada stepped into the national spotlight earlier this year after a controversial decision to cut the retail remuneration rate paid to solar customers, both new and existing, and in February, declined to grandfather existing customers into the new rates.

Paul Thomsen issued a procedural order earlier this year requiring Nevada utilities to file an environmental and economic analysis of a diverse set of renewable resources earlier this year, but Sierra Pacific is pushing for more time to complete it.

A study by SolarCity, meanwhile, found rooftop solar delivers $0.016/kWh in net benefits to the grid for Nevada residents, and $0.036/kWh with environmental benefits included.