Nevada’s attorney general is investigating what he calls an “untested” new electricity billing structure that could drive up customer costs for more than 900,000 residential customers.
The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada last week approved a rate case for NV Energy that changes the way residential customers are billed in its southern Nevada territory. Rather than totaling up the electricity consumed, the utility will charge customers based on how much power they use during the 15-minute period of the day when they are drawing the most from the grid.
Peak demand charges are often used for large industrial customers. Some utilities — including Arizona Public Service and Georgia Power — offer it to residential consumers as an option. But NV Energy appears to be the first to make the rate mandatory.
Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat, said in a statement on X that his office’s Bureau of Consumer Protection is reviewing the order. The office, he said, “will be taking next steps seeking to prevent unfair and unreasonable rates, and will continue to fight for Nevadans who shouldn’t have to bankroll utility experiments that are untested and simply unfair.”
