Electric deregulation bill heads to governor

Jennifer Coleman

Monday, May 31, 1999 | 10:14 a.m.

CARSON CITY - Gov. Kenny Guinn will have final say on throwing the switch to deregulate Nevada's electric utility market, under a measure winning final legislative approval Sunday.

With Guinn's expected signature of SB438, Nevada will join 21 other states that have moved to deregulate the industry.

The measure opening the Nevada market to competition on March 1, 2000, moved to the governor's desk with an amendment ensuring that Guinn - rather than the state Public Utility Commission - has the option of delaying the start-up.

The change was produced a day earlier in a conference committee, where key lawmakers and lobbyists for utilities, affected businesses, utility shareholders and others questioned leaving the delay option in the hands of the PUC.

Giving the PUC that responsibility could produce a "bureaucratic nightmare of endless delays," said Senate Commerce and Labor Chairman Randolph Townsend, R-Reno.

"The expertise of the commission is important, but the governor is the elected official who should have the responsibility to implement the date," said Townsend.

Delaying the opening of the utility market could cost businesses, such as casinos, a lot of money because it could delay the opportunity to negotiate for lower rates, business lobbyists complained.

Casino lobbyist Harvey Whittemore argued that the sooner deregulation begins, the better his clients would be served.

"We could be caught up in a regulatory morass of delaying another month, another month, another month," he said.

SB438 also includes a cap on electric rates for the first three years for residential consumers.

And Nevada's current utility monopolies can use their names on affiliates that may sell power and other services. That would void a PUC rule that the name of the power company couldn't be expanded to associated companies.

Las Vegas-based Nevada Power Co. and Reno-based Sierra Pacific Power Co. will also avoid having their customers auctioned off under SB438. The PUC had wanted to auction off blocs of customers to attract new companies to the residential market.