Editorial: Conserving is a virtue after all

Friday, May 11, 2001 | 6 a.m.

Vice President Dick Cheney understandably drew derision two weeks ago when he said conservation may be a "sign of personal virtue," but that it didn't serve as a basis for a sound energy policy for the nation. In the wake of the public backlash to Cheney's dismissive comments, the White House now is acknowledging conservation's important role in a comprehensive energy policy.

The conservation views of Cheney, who is in charge of President Bush's energy task force, stand in stark contrast to the more level-headed approach of state officials throughout the West who have implemented sensible conservation programs. Earlier this year Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn, a former utility gas executive, noted the need for conservation as this state and others were hit by skyrocketing electricity and natural gas prices. Last week Guinn once again encouraged Nevadans to use common-sense measures to cut back on energy use, especially now that summertime is almost here.

Blackouts don't appear in Nevada's future, as is already the case in California, so the conservation measures being pushed here are still voluntary. But it is only sensible for all consumers to cut back, if only for the dent it can make in their own bills that will surge higher this summer. Nevadans could save up to 25 percent on their power bills depending on how much energy-conservation measures they put in place. It also was encouraging that Guinn told reporters this week that he believed that energy reduction could occur through a fairer regulatory structure that uses tiered rates, with the biggest power users being charged more, which should create a financial incentive to use less electricity.

Regarding the Leviathan-like energy appetite of casinos, Guinn noted that many already have taken significant steps to cut their energy bills. Guinn suggested that dimming the glitter along the Strip and of the downtown casinos, though, might be self-defeating since tourists have come to expect the excitement created by the neon-bathed casinos. Still, it's not as if some savings are impossible there, too. After all, Fitzgeralds downtown hotel-casino recently started turning off many of its exterior decorative lighting after 2 a.m. At this stage it doesn't appear that such mandatory curtailments on decorative lighting will be necessary, but it wouldn't be unprecedented -- during an energy crisis in the mid-1970s, casinos complied with the governor's request to turn off their outside lighting.

Conservation alone won't end the energy crisis, but it sure is a step in the right direction that should be embraced by residential customers, businesses and all levels of government.