Nevada’s March 1 deregulation canceled

Brendan Riley

Monday, Feb. 28, 2000 | 10:42 a.m.

CARSON CITY, Nev. - As expected, Nevada has pulled the plug on its scheduled Wednesday startup of electricity deregulation.

Gov. Kenny Guinn said today he'll instead hold a summit meeting of major participants in deregulation negotiations to find a way to overcome legal and technical obstacles.

"Many of the problems ... 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."

"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 first-term Republican governor and former utility executive said.

No date has been set for the meeting, and no new deadline has been set for the start of deregulation.

Those who will be invited to the meeting include representatives of Nevada Power, Sierra Pacific, Consumer Advocate's Office, state Public Utilities Commission staff, and gambling and mining industry representatives.

Guinn spokesman Jack Finn had said 2 1/2 weeks ago that the March 1 deadline probably wouldn't be met.

Some unresolved issues include how to police distribution of electricity from multiple providers over existing power lines, and access to existing transmission lines by outside providers.

Sierra Pacific in northern Nevada and Nevada Power in the south are the sole electric providers in the state until deregulation takes effect as directed by the 1999 Legislature.

State Consumer Advocate Fred Schmidt says the delay won't harm consumers. He notes that rates paid by residential consumers are frozen until March 2003.

While state lawmakers had set March 1 for the start of deregulation, they also gave the governor leeway to change the date "if in the public interest."

State Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, a key player in legislation, had recommended Guinn postpone the starting date by several months, saying, "We want to do this right the first time."