Not wealthy? You’re cooked by NV Energy plan

Gary Musser, Las Vegas

Sunday, June 6, 2010 | 2:01 a.m.

NV Energy wants to spend $300 million to put “smart meters” in our homes. Roger Witcher nailed it in his Wednesday letter to the letter, headlined “At-home power users get short end of stick under plan.”

The purpose of the meters is to charge folks more for using energy in the heat of the day. Consider the wealthy and the not-so-wealthy among us. Do the wealthy care what they pay? Certainly not as much as the not-so-wealthy.

Simple logic tells us that NV Energy wants to have the not-so-wealthy folks turn up their thermostats and roast in the summertime. As Mr. Witcher points out, he sets his thermostat at 75 degrees year-round so that he, and most stay-at-home folks, can be comfortable all year.

How about having NV Energy take a more humane approach?

First, help all residents get a timed thermostat. In this way, folks who are not home all day can cut back on their electricity use during the times they are away.

Second, rather than blow $300 million to make life miserable for the not-so-rich in the summertime, set up a program to help them buy the latest equipment to minimize electricity use.

Third, use some of the $300 million to aggressively promote energy production via solar panels and perhaps windmills. There are lots of roofs in our valley that can collect lots of power for nothing once the panels are installed, and we have lots of wind.

Hey, we are in this together. It’s not fair to have the not-so-wealthy roast in the summertime.