Nevada utility workers explain restructuring ad

Thursday, Aug. 20, 1998 | 11:22 a.m.

Acknowledging they're concerned about their jobs when the Nevada utility industry is restructured, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers explained its controversial newspaper advertisement advocating deregulation be slowed.

Union officials said they initiated their educational campaign now because political races are under way and candidates should take stands on restructuring.

Jim Anzinger and Jack McNally, business managers and financial secretaries for their respective union locals in Las Vegas and Walnut Creek, Calif., said the ad is part of a campaign to slow the state's bid to turn electrical utilities from regulated monopolies to competitive businesses.

Anzinger, McNally and Assemblyman Tom Collins of North Las Vegas, a lineman and a member of Local 396 of the IBEW, discussed the ad and the union's sudden opposition to restructuring, the first organized campaign against the process since the bill was signed into law a year ago.

Collins, who voted for the bill that mandates restructuring the industry, said the Nevada Legislature zipped through approval and was pressured by federal regulators who said some type of federal deregulation was on the horizon if the state didn't act.

"Most of them (members of the Assembly) don't even understand it," Collins said.

Now, the IBEW hopes to approve restructuring a piece at a time to make sure it works before adding another component. The union's strategy: educate people with an ad campaign, brochures and a videotape about how expensive deregulation might be and how service could be affected.

Union officials contend that Nevada, which enjoys some of the lowest utility rates in the West, doesn't need deregulation to keep rates down and the effort could lead to an averaging of prices regionally -- which could mean higher costs to Southern Nevadans.

But regulators say the ad is full of misinformation, inaccuracies and incorrect assumptions. They also say the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada is moving at a deliberately slow pace to ensure every aspect of the switch to deregulation is carefully debated and fully understood.

The advertisement tells readers, "The power's out in Nevada! Do you use electricity? You're about to get slammed."

Slamming is the illegal practice by some long-distance telephone companies of switching customers to different companies without permission.

"Your legislature," the ad says, "has empowered the Public Utilities Commissioners to slam you ..."

Judy Sheldrew, chairwoman of the PUC, said the IBEW ad is wrong about that. She said utility customers will have the opportunity to choose their own providers when restructuring occurs around Jan. 1, 2000.

The ad also says Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Resources will not be able to compete in Nevada as a result of the legislation, another point Sheldrew disputes.

Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific, which are in the process of merging, intend to operate in the Nevada market. The only change, she said, is that they may have to compete through affiliates.

McNally said there are no guarantees that Nevada Power or Sierra Pacific Resources will establish affiliates and compete as electricity providers. As a result, the state's utility workers could be without jobs, he said.

The union fears out-of-state competitors could set up customer service phone banks out of town. As far as whether there would be more jobs as more competition comes into the state, the union representatives said there are no guarantees.

Anzinger and McNally defended their assertions that the PUC could be guilty of advocating slamming, since affiliates -- not the companies themselves -- would operate in Nevada and unsuspecting customers could be assigned to another utility by not specifically requesting a service provider.