Guinn delays electricity competition

Monday, Feb. 28, 2000 | 11:13 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn announced today as expected that he is delaying the start of open competition among electricity suppliers because of the many unsolved problems facing deregulation.

The Nevada Legislature had set Wednesday as the date for outside electric suppliers to come in to compete against Nevada Power Co. in Las Vegas and Sierra Pacific Power Co. in Northern Nevada. But the law allowed the governor to decide if the state should go forward on that date.

"I'm very disappointed we weren't able to meet the March 1 deadline, but I was absolutely opposed to proceeding with deregulation before we were ready -- and we're not ready," the governor said.

The delay most likely won't affect residential customers, who are presently served by the two major utilities. Rates for homeowners will be capped for three years. And the outside companies applying to do business in Nevada focused on supplying power to big users such as mines, casinos and large commercial businesses.

Guinn has ordered a summit to bring the parties together to resolve some differences. The goal of the meeting, the date of which was not announced, will be to form a cohesive plan for overcoming the legal and technical obstacles of deregulation, the governor said.

"Many of the problems currently standing in the way of electrical deregulation are out of our hands and must be decided by the courts or the federal government, so there are certainly limits on what we can achieve at this meeting," Guinn said. "However I want to make sure that all parties are communicating effectively and working toward the same goal."

There is no new deadline for competition to start.

Those to be invited to attend the meeting include representatives from Nevada Power, Sierra Pacific, the Consumer Advocates Office, the staff of the Public Utilities Commission and two representatives each of the gaming and mining industries.

"I'm hopeful we will be able to solve some the problems when we get everyone in the same room, addressing the same issues at the same time," the governor said.

He listed as "complex problems" to be solved: