Levy suggested to finance weatherization, payment help

Erin Neff

Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2001 | 11:28 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Although Gov. Kenny Guinn has earmarked $5 million in one-shot funding to assist low-income residents with energy bills, a Senate committee heard testimony Tuesday suggesting an ongoing trust should be established for long-term solutions.

Ernie Nielsen, of the Washoe County Senior Law Project and a member of the governor's energy committee, said that while Guinn's proposal is admirable, more needs to be done.

"Regardless of the governor's $5 million, we need some long-term solutions for energy assistance and weatherization," Nielsen testified before the Senate's Commerce and Labor Committee during a second day of hearings on energy issues.

One possible source of recurring funds could be a trust established with money taken from an assessment on power bills. This would raise the average monthly residential bill 65 cents and raise $25 million annually statewide.

"It is a reasonable amount to ask the people to pay for the public good," said Jan Gilbert of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada.

Even if the Legislature grants the Public Utilities Commission the authority to increase the assessment for such a use, the question becomes: How best to spend the money?

Former state Sen. Ernie Adler, now with the Affordable Housing Coalition, said weatherizing homes to make them more energy efficient might actually help low-income residents more than assistance with their bills.

"If the ... assessment is used correctly, you may not have to subsidize as many low-income people," Adler said.

Representatives from the state's Housing Division testified that the state was only able to provide weatherization assistance to 175 homes of the 128,000 that likely need that service.

"That is literally less than a drop in the bucket," said Tim Hay, the state's consumer advocate.

The reason so few homes are included is the lack of both state and federal funding for weatherization. The federal government contributed $500,000 and the state another $142,000 for the program last year.

Hay also supported the assessment as a permanent funding mechanism, but said another piece of legislation may also help soften the expected energy crisis.

A draft piece of legislation would allow the PUC to change rate designs, creating bottom tier rates that are lower than upper tier rates. The less energy a consumer uses, the more likely he or she would be to have a majority of the bill fall at the bottom-tier rates.

"It also provides a strong incentive to conserve energy," Hay said.