Nevada energy bill finally OK’d

Erin Neff

Thursday, May 17, 2001 | 11:10 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- After months of testimony, weeks of amendments and five tries, an Assembly committee on Wednesday finally approved an omnibus energy bill.

But Assembly Bill 661 contains so many amendments and different ideas that it heads to an uncertain future in the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee.

"The journey is not over," said Assemblyman Doug Bache, D-Las Vegas, chairman of the Select Committee on Energy. "This is just the beginning for this bill, and we may see it back."

AB661 was salvaged Wednesday afternoon following four previous attempts to pass it.

Public Utilities Commission Chairman Don Soderberg presented a simple amendment Wednesday that eliminated some committee members' fears about an "over-earning" provision.

A previous amendment, proposed by Consumer Advocate Tim Hay and clarified by Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, would have required Sierra Pacific Resources to "true up" accounting measures to ensure that the utility company was not over earning money from recent rate hikes.

Soderberg's amendment allows the PUC to adopt regulations after Oct. 1 related to the deferred energy rate system previously signed into law in Assembly Bill 369.

Hay and Sierra Pacific Resources lobbyist Doug Ponn were satisfied with the new amendment, thus soothing concerns Republican committee members had.

But three Democrats still voted against passage of AB661, citing concerns with one of the bill's main provisions.

The Repower Nevada amendment allows large energy users, such as casinos and mines, to leave the grid and purchase power on the open market.

Assemblymen Buckley: Sheila Leslie, D-Reno: and David Parks, D-Las Vegas, voted against 661 because they said they feared allowing anyone to buy power on the open market during the deregulation-sparked energy crisis in California.

"It's a flawed bill," Buckley said. "Why would we allow just anyone to get off the system?"

Buckley suggested deregulation is such a frightening proposition given the unstable energy market that only a small pilot program under controlled circumstances should be allowed to test the waters.

The Repower Nevada amendment includes a provision that Southern Nevada users of more than 1 megawatt of energy must buy more power than they need on the open market. Thus, those users would cede 10 percent of the power they purchase back to Nevada Power for use by the utility's smaller customers.