Nevada committee passes renewable energy bill

Tuesday, March 29, 2005 | 8:02 a.m.

CARSON CITY, Nev. - A Nevada Senate committee on Tuesday passed a bill that would reward the state's two largest utility companies for helping customers install renewable energy products in their homes.

SB188 would give Sierra Pacific Power Co. of Reno and Nevada Power Co. of Las Vegas credits toward conservation obligations for every kilowatt hour saved through renewable energy measures.

The bill is the result of legislation passed in 2001 that beefed up renewable energy requirements for the utilities. The requirements would increase incrementally until 2013, when utilities will be expected to produce 15 percent of their energy through solar, wind or geothermal sources.

Don Soderberg, chairman of the state Public Utilities Commission, told the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee at an earlier hearing that the bill will help the companies meet the requirements, which until now have not been fulfilled because renewable power plants have not been constructed as planned.

The bill would apply to projects installed after January 1, 2005 and the utilities would get more credits for savings that occur during peak times.

Sen. Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, said she did not want to hold up the legislation, but she was concerned that older homes, many of which are in her district, will not be prime targets for installing the measures and that newer developments will be the only beneficiaries.

"I don't want those areas to be left out," she said. "I just wanted to make sure that this policy addresses everyone."

Soderberg said the utilities would probably focus on retrofitting newer homes because it is more cost-effective.

Carlton will work with the utilities on a statement that will outline their commitment to increasing energy efficiency in all homes.

Some details of how the program will be run are yet to be worked out, but Soderberg said utility companies and residents would share the cost of installing renewable energy products such as water-cooled air conditioners, which act like regular air conditioners but are much more efficient.

Soderberg said customers who reduce their energy consumption through conservation and renewable energy certainly would see a drop in their rates, and rates for other customers would not rise measurably and would probably even drop in the long run.

The bill now goes to the Senate Floor for a full vote.