Utility regulators looking at mobile home park owners

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2000 | 10:42 a.m.

Mobile home parks shouldn't be allowed to sell electricity at prices higher than what they pay, even in a deregulated marketplace, a state lawmaker told utility regulators Wednesday.

Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said mobile home park owners are prohibited from profiting on utilities under current law. Just because the electrical industry is about to undergo a major change when competition takes effect doesn't mean that policy should change, she said.

Buckley addressed a Public Utilities Commission hearing teleconferenced in Carson City and Las Vegas. Regulators scheduled the hearing at the request of the Manufactured Home Community Owners Association (MHCO), which is seeking an opinion on whether the same rules apply for energy purchases from alternative sellers as they have from utility monopolies.

Commissioner Richard McIntire presided over the hearing and is expected to draft an order for consideration by the full commission, possibly by next month.

Competition is scheduled to begin next month, but most industry experts agree the state isn't ready for it. Gov. Kenny Guinn has the authority to postpone the start-up.

The MHCO sought an advisory opinion on the issue from the PUC in October, initially inquiring about whether the state's 147 mobile home parks could purchase power from an alternative seller and whether there were restrictions on how the power was then sold to tenants.

Association representatives say it is their intent to pass through rates to their tenants and to make sure tenants are no worse off under competitive rates than they are in the current system.

Larry Blank, a former PUC staff member testifying on behalf of the MHCO, said it wasn't the association's intent to seek permission to charge tenants more for utilities than they paid. But under current rules, utility companies would be required to submit detailed sales and price data for review by the PUC to assure that tenants aren't overcharged. But that won't be required under deregulation.

The PUC staff, the consumer advocate's office, Southwest Gas Corp. and the Washoe County Senior Law Project submitted written testimony on the issue.

The PUC staff said mobile home parks could not profit on the resale of gas, water and electricity because the law establishing competition did not change statutes on profiteering. The staff recommended additional regulations clarifying how mobile home parks with a single master meter would operate in the competitive arena.

Parks with one meter can charge no more than a prorated portion of the total bill plus a charge equal to the service fee Nevada Power assesses residential customers -- $5 a month.

The consumer advocate, Southwest Gas and the Washoe County Senior Law Project representatives concurred. A suggestion that mobile home parks be allowed to be licensed as utility resellers was rejected by all the parties.