Miller to push no vote on power initiative

Friday, Nov. 1, 2002 | 11:20 a.m.

Television advertisements will begin airing today that feature former Gov. Bob Miller and his opposition to a ballot question that asks Clark County voters whether they want a nonprofit public agency to provide electricity to Southern Nevadans.

Miller, who served a record 10 years in office, is a senior partner in the law firm Jones Vargas, which has represented Nevada Power Co. in various matters and is representing the Citizens Against 14 campaign.

Miller said he opposes Question 14, an advisory measure on Tuesday's general election ballot, because it is vague and involves an issue that deserves further study.

"There's too little information to make a decision this monumental," Miller said Thursday. "The Legislature should review this before there is a public vote on it. All of the arguments on both sides have not been adequately addressed for people to know or understand the issue. It should be studied over a period of time."

Miller said the 30-second ad, which will run through the weekend, discloses his affiliation with the law firm and its connection to the coalition that opposes the ballot initiative. The Citizens Against 14 campaign has been financed almost exclusively by Nevada Power, which had spent $1.6 million on the effort through last week.

In the ad, Miller warns of the dangers of the public taking on $3 billion in "debt" to run a power utility. That is in reference to the Southern Nevada Water Authority's $3.2 billion offer to buy Nevada Power, though Question 14 does not mention the water authority, Nevada Power or the purchase offer.

"That's $3 billion that could be used for other things like schools, roads and police," Miller said in an interview. "Where are our priorities?"

But state Consumer Advocate Timothy Hay said that Miller is wrong because the Water Authority acquisition would involve taxable bonds that would be repaid by ratepayers who are already paying that debt at higher interest rates to Nevada Power. Hay said there would be no debt burden on taxpayers.

"That's the big lie the 'No on 14' people have portrayed," Hay said. "The (former) governor has either been misinformed or he bought into a specious argument."

Water Authority spokesman Vince Alberta had little to say about Miller's comments.

"It's pretty easy to figure out the company's lawyer has to say what the company wants him to say," Alberta said.

Nevada Power parent Sierra Pacific Resources has refused to negotiate with the Water Authority, arguing that the public agency's financing plan is shaky and that the water authority has no experience running an electric utility.

The Water Authority, which is prevented by law from engaging in political campaigns, has maintained that it could save ratepayers at least 20 percent immediately because it can refinance Nevada Power's debt at much lower interest rates. The water authority has a "double A" credit rating, whereas Nevada Power's rating has been given "junk" status.

The Water Authority, Southern Nevada's largest electricity user, has said it wants to buy the power company because it doesn't believe Nevada Power is stable enough financially to continue to provide reliable electricity.

Nevada Power's credit rating was downgraded after the state Public Utilities Commission in March granted the company only $485 million of the $922 million it was seeking for energy used last year. Sources familiar with those proceedings said that Jones Vargas had lobbied state lawmakers heavily behind the scenes in an effort to get as favorable a decision from the PUC as possible.

But the PUC ultimately chastised Nevada Power for buying too much power last year and for failing to lock in low-cost long-term energy contracts before the West was struck with an energy crisis in spring 2000.