Water authority says its electric bill will double

Friday, May 18, 2001 | 11:24 a.m.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority, the regional agency that governs water supply, will pay twice as much for power this year, but the higher rates will not be reflected in customers' monthly water bills. At least not immediately.

The biggest users, however, will help bear the burden of rising power costs, according to the authority's budget for June 2001 through June 2002, which passed Thursday by a 6-0 vote. Board member Michael McDonald, who represents the city of Las Vegas, was absent.

Water authority officials say they saved $30 million on electricity the past two years by, for example, pumping water at night, when energy prices are lower, and storing water underground in the valley. Still, natural gas prices have soared on the open market, Richard Wimmer, SNWA deputy general manager, said.

The water authority expects to appropriate $50 million of its $356 million budget for power through June 2002, Wimmer said. It paid $22 million last year.

It could have been worse, Wimmer said.

The water authority, the valley's biggest power user, is buying up to 82 percent of its electricity from the Colorado River Commission -- an agency that manages federal hydropower projects on the Colorado River -- at a fixed rate negotiated two years ago, when costs were lower.

In late 1999 the commission began supplying the power to pump water. Although the commission has secured contracts for electricity through December it will have to buy some power on the spot market from January through June of next year, Wimmer said.

By January the water authority will have to raise its wholesale rates for water, and the higher rates will passed on to the biggest water users, Wimmer said.

Those using large amounts of water -- and some customers pay from $500 to $1,000 a month for water -- will likely get a dose of sticker shock, he said. Details won't be available until fall, he said.

Within the next two years the water authority is forecasting rate increases for all customers, especially if the weather remains dry and hot over an extended period.

During normal Southern Nevada summer customers may use 4 percent to 6 percent more water than they use during winter months, Wimmer said.

In an extremely hot summer, Southern Nevadans may crave 8 percent more water. That is a worst case scenario, he said.