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StumbleRate increase got you stumped? Click line-by-line through your power bill
Friday, July 8, 2011 | 2:05 a.m.
Click on each line of the bill below for an explanation of the term and the charge. Current rates can be compared to the rate changes being requested by NV energy by using the two bars at the bottom. Each color corresponds to a line on the bill.
By Tyson Anderson, David McGrath Schwartz
Sun coverage
Sun archives
Last month, NV Energy requested that state regulators approve a general rate increase of 24 percent.
No need to worry, the company said, customers won’t feel a thing — at least immediately. Single-family residential bills will be no higher on Jan. 1, when the new rate takes effect, than they were on July 1, the company said.
But how can the general rate rise but bills stay the same?
The answer lies in the fact that your power bill is composed of seven — soon to be eight — separate charges. And NV Energy is using required decreases in other rates — primarily customers’ overpayments for fuel to fire power plants — to offset the increases to rates.
It can be confusing. But to make it less so, the Sun has detailed what all of those numbers and odd-sounding charges on your NV Energy bill mean, and how they will change over the next six months.
Discussion: 16 comments so far…
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NV Energy should be provided with a 24% increase
in rates. We are going through difficult economic times and it seems like NV Energy keeps getting raise after raise until now they are the highest charging utility in the West. Our public utility
commission should be ashamed.
i dont understand how a homeowner in vegas can live there without solar panels on the roof. you have over 300 days of sunshine a year yet you still complain about your energy bill and DO NOTHING ABOUT IT!
Until the price of a solar panel system gets affordable I will have to continue to be held hostage to NVE. I've priced them, thought of my husband installing, etc., but with my home already underwater like 80% of the houses here, it is not feasible nor sensible. Hey dipstick (how appropo) how 'bout you give me a loan to the tune of say....$35,000 so I can install that solar system and I can take the next 20 YEARS to pay you back, because that is about how long it would take to recoup the money invested in that system. Guess what, even the solar panel companies are greedy! What a surprise.....NOW do you understand? People always flap their jowls when they know not what they are talking about. The "energy" companies in this state have had a monopoly for over 50 years and they could care aless about anybody or anything except their shareholders and the executives of the companies....AGAIN!!! what a surprise.....
Oh yea wonderful Sun Newspaper...how about printing all that information you said you were going to print to help us understand our new bills while we're bent way way over??? Not seeing it....not even a link to anywhere??? Typical of the Sun's great reporting.....egads.....no wonder the doomsday people are spouting their crap....starting to believe it myself...
The Sun is apparently far more wonderful then you Kellan88. If you would follow the provided directions and click on each line you'd see they have provided exactly what you say they haven't.
Solar is easy here in the desert. Cheap too.
1) Size your load after eliminating and downsizing all you can. (CFLs or LEDs for lighting, solar water heater for DHW, Energy Star fridge,insulate attic, walls, ducts, seal, etc.)My load is small for a small family and well insulated home. I need 3 - 4 Kwh/day to handle it all; Google 'solar load calculator' to find a bevy of ways to count your energy needs and amount of solar panels to handle it.
2) Google 'solar panels' and look for deals in $/watt. The rates are under $2/watt now. My little Bed and Breakfast is well-supplied with about $8,000 in panels and another $2,000 in an inverter and back-up batteries. Installation is not extremely difficult.
3) Payback is quick here in solar paradise. Just the solar water heater saves $450 a year and it's a black tank in a box surrounded by plants in the yard with a piece of glass and cost me all of $350. Payback is 9 months. The solar electric package has a payback of a few years after tax credits. Four years to freedom is a short walk for reliable equipment with a good 20 or 30 years in them (way better than a heat pump!).
Let the sun shine. Let the sun shine in...the sun shine in...
I'm a fan of the tracking collector arrays as they provide an additional 30% for tracking on just one axis. That's worth the investment. My favorite trackers come from American companies and use simple GPS devices for tracking. The payback is quick and the steady all day 100% solar gain is optimal for my needs - big breakfasts for my 'B and B', laundry during the middle of the day, A/C in the late afternoon for guests arriving and wanting a shower before dinner, etc.
Fixed mounts suffer by comparison to trackers; whole hog is better sausage.
You say you have no directions, yet you recite them. "Click on each line"... Have you tried it? Do you not have a sample bill at the top of your article. This isn't rocket science.
So they over charge us $185 million, pay us back pennies at a time, and then say they will let us borrow $64 million (with interest compounded monthly) so they can lower costs for another year. All the while they show a profit and get rate increases due to the consumers trying to conserve energy. Somethings wrong with this picture.
Sizing the geothermal heat pump (GHP)is critical also for maximizing efficiency of operation. A good GHP will fetch and dump 12,000 BTU for one kwh. That's better than twice the efficacy of air-to-air noise-makers.
Another advantage of living here now is the tax credits on these things - 30% for geothermal heat pumps, 30% of solar systems, 30% of insulation. We went to double straw bale walls (R-80 and a matching R-80 attic along with triple glazed, low-E argon windows from Pella.
Buy low, invest well and live cheap, really cheap. Screw the folks at NVE with your own sun. Screw them again with your own earth-tempered heating and cooling. It feels good to be the screwER instead of the screwEE. But do NOT take my word for it. Do it yourself!
udde, you are PAYING a dollar twenty a KWH???
That's 10 times the rate in Nevada. With the VAT, you're paying 15 times what we pay for the same kwh.
Dude, that's 'highway robbery' over here, but maybe where you live, it's just plain old "fiordability!" hohoho
Udde,
OOoops
more like 12 times what we pay. I'd be getting LED bulbs and packing the snow with leftovers so I could turn OFF the fridge!
Maybe get a pair of binoculars so I could watch TV on the neighbor's screen!
Give up the electric guitar and go acoustic!!
Wear several sweaters and a couple a pairs of wooly socks. A hoody, scarf and gloves with little holes for your acoustic guitar habit!!
Udde is right of course. It takes a few years to pay it back, but at least you won't be paying the bloodsucking lying corporate con artists at NVE.
nv energy have the worst offices, the worst customer service and terrible service for a monopoly they are surely contravening the monopolies and mergers regulations
udde is right of course. air head was only off by one single decimal point though...LMAO
Come over and let me treat you to a weekend on the planet living off the sun. I'll make it up to you!
Free TV, games, food and comfort. Gobs of great shows.
ladies and gentlemen...
boys and girls...
in this great recession...
with unemployment in nevada thru the frickin roof...
the time to get involved is right now...
pick up your phone and make a few phone calls today...
call governor brian sandoval...
after all he represents you...
call the little fella...
express your opinion...
tell him that you will hold him personally responsible for these increases...
brian's phone number is (775)684-5670...
give him a call...
also...
call the ceo of nvenerergy...
michael yakira...
i have a couple times...
couldn't get thru...
made me feel like michael was too big to talk to little old me...
give mikey a call at (702)402-5000...
be civil of course...
but voice your opinion...
uddeboda - How much have you spent on winter clothes over the past 10 years. My cost? - $0
Joe, you are my hero....
Solar panels have come way down in price and way up in efficiency over the last few years. A well-designed and built system will last at least 25 years with minimal upkeep, which is probably longer than the shoddy, thrown-together house it's attached to. We always hear the same ol' whining about long payback time, etc. from the traditional energy providers and their brainwashed victims, er, ratepayers. Maybe this was true 10 years ago, but not any more.
One of the first things I learned as a saleswoman was that people can afford what they want to afford. So instead of pissing money away on something that will provide short-term "happiness", invest in something that will do everyone some good over the long run. Instead of spending 30 grand on a shiny new truck, spend 20 and invest in energy generation. Leave the blood-suckers in the dust (thanks Man).
Unless of course, you're only here in So. Nevada short-term because that's where the money was and you can't wait to leave when something better opens up somewhere else. In that case, you can just leave.
Nevada Power or NV Energy (Whatever) get everything they want. My power bill is almost $800 a month in summer, and they want more.
First off I think Joe Lamy has too much time on his hands.
I have lived in Las Vegas long enough to remember when my summer power bill for a 4 bedroom house was $45.00. AC going full blast from late May to mid October.
Nevada Power(ful) will get what ever they want because we are a closed market. So does SW Gas, the Water District, Cox Cable and any other company that has exclusive "rights" in the valley.
Listen "dipstick"..solar panels have been installed in projects here for years, only to be removed in the immediate following years. Pool solar the same, they last 7-15 years and cost a chunk..hardly worth replacing. We continue to get snowed on this type of energy...and then when you work to keep battery storage, what happens when you need battery replacement. SOLAR, EVEN WITH 300 PLUS DAYS OF SUNSHINE, IS NOT EFFICIENT. Why do we think government subsidies will make it efficient?
I would love to go Solar, however if you're not a do it yourselfer the quotes from local companies are absurd with 20-30 year payback tables. I'm sure somewer down the road there will be competition.
I Googled where the U.S. Government is subsidizing a China company over 700 million dollars to build a Solar facility in Nevada that Sen. Reid lobbied for. What a waste, take that money and make it available to homeowners to get us off the grid. All these politicians working for Multi-National Corporations. Nevada Energy with its high electric rates discourages manufacturing companies from relocating to Nevada.
For those of you interested in being independent from NVEnergy, there is light at the end of the tunnel. DO NOT go to a local solar system installation company and get ripped off. The general going rate for a 5kw hour solar system in town is between $35-40,000. Look at this link from Sunelec in phoenix. You can purchase an entire and complete 5kw hour system for under $12,000. There is no sales tax on renewable energy products, and it would be cheaper to drive down to Phoenix and pick up the system and drive it back so you save on shipping costs.
http://www.sunelec.com/index.php?main_pa...
Next, find yourself a C-2g certified electrical contractor to install your system. With any competent electrical contractor, this job should take a few days maximum to install in and on your house, and should only cost several thousand dollars for labor, depending if you hire a union or non-union contractor. Makes you think that these solar system installation companies that get their systems at the same price of under $12,000 or better, and pay their guys for a couple days of work, must be making about $20,000 profit for a two day job.
Additionally, there is a federal tax rebate of 30% with no maximum limit for system installed after 2008, including the price of the panels and cost of labor paid for install.
http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/incen...
why is there two sides of the solar story? on one hand i get the shuck and jive on how expensive it is and the high maintenance factor from people who DONT own a system ,then i hear from the OWNERS themselves and they're making out like gang busters! somebody want to clarify why ?
Dennis,
Most of those that have installed Solar are just like gamblers. They tell you they won $500 on a jackpot but forget to tell you that they put $600 in the machine to win that jackpot.
Also, most solar installations here are pool heating coils that don't last long so they become bad investments. They have nothing to do with generating energy.
Another comment on the high price of Electricity here in Las Vegas.
How many of you remember the NV legislature mandated a certain amount of NV Energy must come from Solar or Wind.
We've been paying for those alternate energy schemes (wet dreams) through higher rates for years now.
So if you're "green" person, suck it up, be quiet and pay the damn bills.
Thanks for your post about not getting through to the governer Birdie I'm still chuckling [after LOL of course]...
I cannot understand why our gov wouldn't talk to you of all people!
Joe says he spent around 10 grand plus to install his solar system and that's all good and well but [there is always a but] what is the life expectancy of said system and what is the potential maintainance costs over its life span?
Losta folks buy into things and like to be smug about them [40 thousand for a 25 thousand dollar crossover car that will never pay for itself for example another is the famous wood burning stoves in the northern parts of the USA] but jump forward 5 yrs and ask these people what happened to their money savers and cover the youngens ears.
Is Obama running NV Energy, that is double take. You bill in July will not be no different from the bill in January, but yet there was a rate increase, who are they trying to fool. Its plan and simple, and increase means one thing, your bill is going up.
I don't know what is more annoying: the Sun writer's chart that is harder to read than my energy bill, Nevada Energy the company ... or the comments on this story...
I will pay double just to get off NV Energy grid, just to screw that greedy company.
The Sun's math is wrong. On the current bill, the items in the right-hand column add up to: 100.10, not $101.10. The correct figure should be $100.10. The individual line items are correct, but they don't add up correctly on the bottom line.
I also think there's a math goof on the proposed bill, but I'm still checking it. By doing all the calculations, I keep coming up with $111.93, not $111.77. I'll get back to you later.
Either way, good story, Sun. Good useful information, even if the math is shaky. Will the Sun check their math?
You will pay more and get less. NV power has raised rates ever since I moved here 15+ years ago. Rate hike after rate hike after rate hike.
Its beyond old, its just time to relocate.
Most of you making your "get solar" comments, fail to understand that the last 2 rate increases were because Las Vegans as a whole conserved more energy. NV Energy made less money and claimed financial hardship to get these increases. They are punishing us because some people have switched to solar or wind power. Others of us including our seniors have raised our thermostats to 78 to 80 degrees to save money. My last visit to my in laws included sitting in 85 degree temperatures inside because they can not afford the rate increases. It is not a simple as you would think. So before you judge get the whole story.
Michael Yackira is the 7th highest paid executive in Nevada at over $7 million/year. If NVEnergy were a true public utility, he wouldn't even come close to that.
The Geothermal energy close to Reno couldn't be sold in the North, so he created a Billion dollar transmission line to bring it to Las Vegas and twice the price! This is what Privatized Utilitys do- make the owners rich in spite of incompetent planning.
I would like to see a plot of Yackira's income, including benefits package and stock options plotted for at least the last five years.
Treacherous billing is a great way to hide rate increases. NVEnergy bills a talent for billing, not energy engineering. It is rapidly becoming Enron of the Desert and Nevada will end up with shadow deals that pay for executives retirement, not energy development.
We are even outsourcing solar power although plants are built here.
http://www.lvrj.com/business/nv-energy-s...
Local power utility NV Energy has signed a purchasing agreement to buy electricity from a 37.5-megawatt solar plant 20 miles north of Las Vegas.
Fotowatio Renewable Ventures of Spain will build the plant, a photovoltaic-panel solar station called Spectrum Solar.
Solar power while it looks good on paper, is a losing proposition, your ROI is 20 years, and the panels fail 100% in 25 years, each year there is wear on the panel, and the efficiency that starts at a WHOPPING 40% (Note sarcasm, if I was 40% efficient at work, I would be unemployed) and drops to about 20% in 15 years. By year 20 I am sure its around 15% so for 5 years you get 1/8 the power you need for free!
(WOW hold me down!)
Oh did I mention the Out of pocket expense of $40,000 for a 3KW system? and all that BS about incentives, yea, if your one of the FEW who gets all the paperwork in between 12:00AM and 12:15AM when NVenergy opens the program, on a random date.
Solar energy is ONE bet in Vegas, I am not placing
Jonathan