RENO — With the cost of living going up, it’s good to hear when a bill will be going down. On Monday, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada approved plans to lower electric rates for Northern Nevada customers beginning Jan. 1, 2020.
The agreement between NV Energy, the Regulatory Operations Staff of the PUCN, the Bureau of Consumer Protection and other interested parties resulted in a $5 million decrease in revenue requirement for Sierra Pacific Power Company, also known as NV Energy.
As of Monday afternoon, NV Energy was calculating how much of an average decrease customers will be receiving. The figures will be made available soon.
“This rate reduction for our northern Nevada electric customers marks the third time in six years that the company has decreased rates for our customers, and we appreciate the work of all parties in helping us achieve this positive outcome,” said Doug Cannon, NV Energy president and chief executive officer. “At NV Energy we are proud of the fact that we have been able to reduce our customer’s rates while providing innovative customer service options, more renewable energy and safe, reliable power to our customers.”
In keeping with its commitment to keep rates flat or declining, NV Energy filed its required general rate review in June with the PUCN requesting a $5 million revenue reduction, and later reached the agreement that was approved today by the Commission.
The 2013 and 2016 general rate cases resulted in a combined $42 million revenue reduction, which led to the lowest prices northern Nevada customers have seen in nearly a decade. An additional reduction of $24.9 million for electric and gas customers was implemented in 2017 as a result of federal tax reform.
