Editorial: Meter size matters

Monday, May 3, 2004 | 10:22 a.m.

A residential electric bill includes a basic charge for service in addition to the cost of power used. It's about $6 for the average home. In March the state Public Utilities Commission authorized Nevada Power to increase this basic charge for residential customers whose use of power is well above average.

Unfortunately, Nevada Power is not basing the extra fee on actual power use. A 70-year-old retired Las Vegas woman found this out the hard way when the basic charge on her monthly electric bill shot up to $50. She lives in a 2,200-square-foot home and uses an average amount of power. When she bought her home in 1983, it was, unknown to her, equipped with a "three phase" electric meter, which simply enables the owner to increase power consumption if desired.

So the woman is being assessed the extra fee because of the size of her meter, rather than the amount of power she's using. Nevada Power has empathized with her situation, but says there's nothing it can do. The woman's only option, it says, is to have a standard meter installed -- at a cost to her of about $2,000. In our view, Nevada Power has a moral responsibility to exempt customers in this woman's situation.