Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Seniors’ rift shows in power issue

The Nevada Seniors Coalition leadership attacked the credibility and finances of the regional water agency Thursday in a proxy battle over the issue of public control of the electric utility.

But the sharp denunciation by coalition president Ken Mahal was answered by supporters of the Southern Nevada Water Authority among the coalition members.

Nevada Power executives attended the coalition meeting at the Castaways hotel and welcomed the attacks on the Water Authority. The company management is fighting both the bid by the Water Authority to buy the company assets for $3.2 billion and a question on the November ballot that asks if the authority should be able to launch a hostile takeover of an electric utility, a move now banned by state law.

Nevada Power and the Nevada Seniors Coalition are both members of the political action group Citizens Against Question 14.

Mahal, a persistent critic of the Water Authority and its infrastructure for delivering water to distributors throughout Clark County, accused the public agency of misspending hundreds of millions on several big water programs.

He also said the agency deliberately takes more than authorized from Lake Mead, the source of most of the region's drinking water.

"This water is not ours, is not theirs to use," Mahal said. "There is no more water and it is getting worse by the day."

He said drinking water sources were polluted and the amount of chlorine in the water supply exceeded federal standards.

Water Authority spokesman Vince Alberta did not attend the seniors coalition meeting, but responded later in the day.

"Over the years, the Southern Nevada Water Authority has provided the community a reliable water supply that meets or exceeds all state and federal safe drinking water standards," Alberta said. "For someone to insinuate otherwise is a disservice to this community. Our record speaks for itself.

"The amount of water we withdraw from Lake Mead is within the guidelines established by the Bureau of Reclamation," the federal agency that governs water use from Lake Mead, Alberta said.

Mahal, who peppered his speech with attacks on the media and the region's political leadership, said mismanagement by the Water Authority would only continue if the agency acquired the power company.

"The better course might be to turn the Southern Nevada Water Authority into a nonprofit, consumer cooperative," rather than a government agency run by elected representatives from local governments, Mahal said.

But some in the crowd of about 100 people emphatically disagreed, arguing that the government takeover would lower power bills.

Richard Bianco, a member of both the seniors coalition and Consumers for the Protection of the People, rebuked Mahal.

"You have let me down," said Bianco, who has spoken for the government takeover of the electric company, a move that Water Authority analysts say would immediately trim 20 percent of consumer's electric bills.

"We are members (of the coalition). Nobody asked our opinion," he said. "You told us you didn't want us as members any more ... You tried to strong-arm me."

Mike Lavine, also a critic of the power company and a supporter of the Water Authority proposal, echoed the comments.

"I think what Ken talked about today is totally irrelevant," he said. Mahal "sold out to them lock, stock and barrel."

Ruth Ann Malouf, a coalition member on a fixed income, said most of the people at the meeting do not support Nevada Power's position.

"Your company did not worry about the average senior citizen," Malouf told Nevada Power President Pat Shalmy. Malouf said changes in the rate structure and rate increases have hit hard seniors on fixed incomes.

"It's a matter of trust," Malouf said. "You have lost our trust."

In response to an angry accusation from Lavine, Shalmy told the crowd that Nevada Power is not bankrolling the media campaign against Question 14. The company, he said, is among 1,800 contributors to the committee fighting the proposal.

He also promised the crowd that Nevada Power wants to lower electric rates for consumers.

"We'll do whatever we can to lower your rates," Shalmy said. "We promise you that."

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