Power plant sale vote expected

Erin Neff

Thursday, March 29, 2001 | 11:18 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A Senate committee was expected to vote late this morning on a bill to halt the sale of Sierra Pacific Resources' power plants.

Senate Bill 253, the subject of weeks of discussion and work sessions, imposes a moratorium on the sale of the plants and is similar to an Assembly bill that cleared that house earlier this week.

But the Senate version, slated for a vote today by the Commerce and Labor Committee, is different from the Assembly bill. SB253 prohibits the sale of the plants until February 2003.

The Assembly version, Assembly Bill 369, prohibits the sale outright until July 1, 2003, and limits the conditions under which the plants can be sold until 2007.

The Senate Committee spent hours this morning discussing renewable energy as a result of a bill that would govern portfolio standards for renewable energy in Nevada.

The bill increases the percentage of renewable energy to 15 percent of the total portfolio standard over a course of time. Nevada's portfolio standard currently mandates a 1 percent renewable rate.

That rate would climb to 5 percent by Dec. 31, 2002, and would be increased bi-annually after that by 2 percent until the 15 percent rate is reached.

Jon Wellinghoff, a lobbyist for several renewable energy companies, said he thought Nevada could easily reach 30 percent -- the standard in Maine.

"We think that the 15 percent standard is very modest," Wellinghoff said.

Renewable energy plants -- such as geothermal, wind, solar and biomass -- are more costly to construct than fossil fuel plants. As a result, renewable companies need long-term contracts in place to sell their energy to get the financing to build the plants.

"You've got to put a lot of money up front," said Karl Gawell, executive director of the Washington-based Geothermal Energy Association. "You're going to be spending millions of dollars before you know how many kilowatts you can even produce."

Increasing the portfolio standard will actually expand the market for renewable energy, maximizing competition and ultimately bringing lower costs to consumers, experts said.

The renewable energy bill, Senate Bill 372, also increases the civil penalties the Public Utilities Commission can levy for failing to comply with any energy policies, including the portfolio standard.

The bill increases the daily penalty from $1,000 to $10,000 and raises the penalty for a series of violations from $100,000 to $3 million.

Wellinghoff said the higher fines are needed because power companies scoff at smaller ones.

The lengthy discussion on renewable energy again pushed the committee's consideration of the divestiture bill until late in the morning hearing. The hearing began at 7:30 a.m. but had to adjourn before 11 when the Senate entered its session.