Columnist Jeff German: Power company zaps the little guy

Friday, Jan. 18, 2002 | 4:34 a.m.

Slumping tourism on the Strip has left thousands of Las Vegas casino workers out of work since the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

These Las Vegans, many with families to support, are collecting unemployment checks and trying to cope with mounting monthly expenses.

Thousands more seniors on fixed incomes also are trying to hold their lives together in the face of an uncertain economy.

Life has been tougher even for those who have jobs. Many gave up Christmas bonuses or other office perks to keep their companies on sound financial footing heading into the new year.

Everyone has tried to pitch in during these post-Sept. 11 trying times.

Then, like a right hook to the noggin, Nevada Power Co. asks for a $921 million rate hike request over the next three years. This comes while Las Vegans still are upset about last year's 27 percent increase in their power bills.

The new hike, if granted in full, could result in another 25 percent rise in monthly power bills. We're talking nearly $50 on an average residential bill of $185.

And there's more.

Another hit would come at the supermarket, the gas station, even the buffet line, as local businesses pass on their escalating energy costs to consumers.

Could the timing be any worse?

No wonder Las Vegans ripped into Nevada Power last week at a well-attended state Public Utilities Commission hearing on the rate hike.

"We have had a tough time because of Sept. 11," Elizabeth Lewis, an unemployed worker, told the commission. "We're barely getting back on our feet now, so why do this to us?

Yeah. Why now?

Others at the hearing accused high-salaried Nevada Power executives of being just plain "greedy."

Poor Nevada Power spokesman Paul Heagen. He took the brunt of the wrath inflicted upon the company at the hearing.

With a straight face, Heagen insisted the utility is the victim of misinformation and that it's really looking after the interests here of its ratepayers.

The company is trying to recoup the millions it spent buying power at high rates during last year's energy crunch in California. It's entitled to regain increased fuel costs under a law passed by the 2001 Legislature nullifying the state's plan to deregulate utilities. But it has to justify those costs to the Public Utilities Commission.

State Consumer Advocate Timothy Hay, who opposes giving Nevada Power all of its rate hike, has taken the position that the company can't defend its recent spending habits. Hay contends Nevada Power has shelled out $500 million to $700 million more than it needed for power over the last two years.

That has led many Las Vegans to suggest the utility is being mismanaged and now wants its customers to pay the price for its apparent ineptness.

Late last week Nevada Power, in a cheap ploy to scare residents into supporting its money-grabbing position, threatened to go to U.S. Bankruptcy Court for relief if the utilities commission doesn't approve the entire rate increase.

It was a cowardly act that likely will enrage Las Vegans even more as the new year gets off to a rocky start in the post-Sept. 11 era.

If Nevada Power has to seek help from the Bankruptcy Court, maybe it really is incapable of managing itself. Maybe the state should consider taking over the company so that it truly can be held accountable to the taxpayers.

Jerry Krell, one of the many residents who lashed out at Nevada Power at last week's hearing, summed things up the best.

"It has got to stop, and it has got to stop now," he said.

Three cheers for Krell.

This may be as good a time as any to give the little guy a break. How about it, Nevada Power?