Editorial: Failing to make the right choices

Friday, April 5, 2002 | 4:57 a.m.

Last week Nevada Power, citing the decision by state regulators to cut by nearly half the utility's $922 million rate hike request, announced that for this year it is delaying work on two major transmission line projects totaling $125 million. The utility says it is committed to the projects and finishing them on schedule, but it still is questionable to delay the work, especially since once a project is postponed it makes it considerably more likely that the deadline won't be met.

These transmission line projects are important to the well-being of Southern Nevada's economy and should be given top priority. Nevada Power officials previously had said that the construction of 100 miles of new transmission lines by 2005 would have doubled the amount of energy available to our region. Without new electricity hookups the economy can't continue to grow.

Instead of postponing an important program, the company should have looked elsewhere first. For starters, the utility could have considered cutting the dividends of its shareholders. As state consumer advocate Timothy Hay has noted, eliminating the quarterly dividend, which recently has been 20 cents per share, could save more than $80 million over a year's time. Nevada Power will have to make cuts in light of the Public Utilities Commission's decision, but the utility should use better judgment in deciding what programs must be postponed or dropped.