The Setup
NV Energy Is a Monopoly—And That Shapes Everything
NV Energy—owned by Berkshire Hathaway—generates, transmits, and delivers your power. No competitors. Regulators set prices instead of markets.
Build More, Earn More
NV Energy earns ~9–10% return on capital investments. Power plants, transmission lines, grid upgrades—each adds to the "rate base" that generates shareholder profit. The incentive: spend on infrastructure, not reduce your usage.
The Mechanism
You Absorb All Fuel Risk. NV Energy Absorbs None.
Your bill has two parts. One is stable. The other can spike overnight.
Base Rates
Locked every 3 years. Covers infrastructure, labor, profit margin.
Fuel Costs
Passed to you quarterly, dollar-for-dollar. Gas prices spike, your bill follows. NV Energy absorbs nothing.
2022: Gas Prices Jumped. You Paid.
Fuel costs rose ~70% in 2022, adding ~$15/month to average bills. Customers absorbed every dollar.
The Players
Six Actors. Six Conflicting Agendas.
🏢 NV Energy
Profits from capital spending. No stake in lowering your fuel costs or usage.
Profit-Driven⚖️ PUCN (Regulators)
Balances rates against utility health. Risk-averse by design.
Public Interest🏛️ Legislature
Responds to voter anger. Can override regulators when backlash builds.
Public Interest🎰 Casinos & Big Users
Want lower, predictable costs. Some exit entirely—MGM paid $87M to leave.
Cost-Driven☀️ Solar Industry
Needs favorable net metering to survive. Fights any credit cut or fee hike.
Market Share👤 Residential Customers
Want affordable, reliable power. Solar and non-solar neighbors have diverging stakes.
MixedThe Tension
Four Trade-Offs With No Clean Solution
Nevada's 50% renewable target by 2030 requires billions in upfront capital. Rates rise now; savings come later. Low-income households feel it first.
When customers exit or go solar, grid costs don't shrink proportionally. Remaining customers cover the gap.
Rooftop solar improves resilience. But NV Energy only profits from infrastructure it owns—so it favors big plants over customer-sited solutions.
Regional markets and dynamic pricing offer efficiency gains but add uncertainty. Monopolies prefer predictability; policy is pushing change.
Case Study
Public Pressure Reversed a Bad Decision
In 2015, NV Energy convinced regulators that solar owners weren't paying their "fair share." The PUCN slashed export credits and hiked fees. The solar market collapsed.
The 2015 Ruling Killed the Market
Fixed charges for solar customers jumped from $12.75 to $38.51. Payback periods became unviable. Tesla, Sunrun, and others fled the state.
Two years later, the Legislature reversed course. AB 405 restored credits, banned discriminatory fees. Applications surged 11-fold.
Collapsed
Solar market after 2015. Major installers fled Nevada.
+1,100%
Applications the year after AB 405 passed.
The Data Proved Them Wrong
The PUCN later found net metering actually lowered average bills by ~$0.01/month when accounting for avoided grid costs. The "cost shift" claim was overstated.
The Impact
Solar Bills Stay Flat. Everyone Else Rides the Spike.
Monthly Bills: Solar vs. Non-Solar
Solar homeowners stay flat year-round. Non-solar households absorb every fuel spike and AC surge.
☀️ Solar Homeowners
- Credits locked at 75-95% of retail for 20 years
- Insulated from fuel volatility
- Protected from discriminatory fees
- Requires ~$15-25K upfront (pre-incentives)
🏠 Non-Solar Households
- 100% exposed to fuel pass-throughs
- Benefit from utility-scale renewables long-term
- May pay more per-customer as neighbors go solar
- Low-income households hit hardest by volatility
The Path Forward
Nevada Is Adjusting the Model—Not Replacing It
Performance-Based Ratemaking
SB 300 (2019) ties profits to outcomes—reliability, clean energy—not just capital spending. Rules in development.
Regional Grid by 2030
SB 448 (2021) mandates joining a Regional Transmission Organization. Off-ramps exist if it harms rates or reliability.
Fuel Cost Sharing
Would require NV Energy to absorb 10-20% of fuel spikes. Gives the utility skin in the game.
Decoupling
Breaks the link between profit and sales volume. Removes NV Energy's incentive to discourage conservation.
Community Solar
AB 465 (2019) gives renters and low-income households solar access without owning panels.
$100M EV Infrastructure
SB 448 funds statewide charging, 40% in underserved areas. Shifts transport costs to cheaper electricity.
Retail Choice Is Dead—For Now
Full deregulation was rejected by voters in 2018 after Berkshire Hathaway spent $63 million opposing it.
Key Takeaways
-
1
You can't switch providers—but you can influence regulation. The PUCN accepts public comments; legislators respond to constituent pressure.
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2
NV Energy profits from building, not conserving. Performance-based rates and decoupling aim to fix this.
-
3
Fuel costs are 100% your risk. Solar adopters are insulated. Everyone else absorbs the swings.
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4
The "cost shift" claim is overstated. The PUCN found rooftop solar slightly lowers average bills.
-
5
Public pressure works. The 2017 Solar Bill of Rights reversed a damaging decision. Berkshire Hathaway has deep pockets.
🔭 What to Watch
2025 Southern Nevada Rate Case
NV Energy seeks base rate increases. Fixed charges hit low-usage and low-income households hardest.
Performance Metrics Development
PUCN is designing rules to tie profits to reliability and clean energy—not infrastructure volume.
Regional Grid Decision by 2030
Joining an RTO could unlock cheaper renewables. Staying out leaves Nevada isolated and higher-cost.
Net Metering Tier Thresholds
Current adopters get 75% credits. New capacity triggers could change terms for future installations.