Nevada Power parent seeks big 17% rate hike

Monday, Jan. 29, 2001 | 4:52 a.m.

Nevada Power's parent company has filed a plan with the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada it says will stabilize energy markets and prevent rolling blackouts in the state.

Walt Higgins, chairman and chief executive officer of Sierra Pacific Resources Inc., Reno, said the company's comprehensive energy package proposes long-term contracts to purchase power, financial assistance for low-income customers and conservation and tiered price increases.

But the proposal, which the company proposes to take effect March 1, comes at a steep cost to the average consumer -- a rate increase of about 17 percent. Large users could see their rates climb as much as 29 percent.

The average Southern Nevada residential customer using 1,100 kilowatt hours of electricity in a month would see his bill climb by $12.63 a month under the plan.

"We know any rate increase is painful, but there is no escaping the fact that the consequences of inaction are much more severe to the residents and businesses of this state, as California clearly shows," Higgins said in a news conference Monday. "Nevadans simply cannot let the lights go out with the kind of irresponsible inaction we've witnessed over the hill. Even with this increase, our rates will still be lower than in California."

Under provisions of the plan, up to $5 million in revenue generated would be provided to the State of Nevada to be used at the state's discretion to fund conservation and low-income protection programs. Also, under the proposed tiered rate structure, a customer using less than 400 kilowatt hours of power in a month would see no rate increase.