LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — NV Energy surprised customers and regulators Tuesday by offering to pay full refunds to more than 100,000 customers it overcharged nearly $65.5 million over two decades. But the eleventh-hour proposal is being met with skepticism from consumers who question the utility's motives.
WATCH | NV Energy offers full refunds amid customer skepticism
The monopoly utility overcharged customers by billing them the wrong rate for their property type, a practice that went on for more than 20 years. In a filing less than two weeks ago, NV Energy pushed back against the Public Utilities Commission over requiring full refunds to overcharged customers. But that changed Tuesday, on the eve of Wednesday's public workshop.
"This conversation should not end here," said Robert Garcia, speaking at the PUC workshop.
The Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection called it "a massive sort of turnaround from their prior filing."
NV Energy calls it a compromise.
"The goal being that we can get to a conclusion and a resolution for our customers," said Meghin Delaney of NV Energy.
But customers remain suspicious of the utility's sudden change of heart.
"We feel that there's something hidden or there may be an underlying issue that we are not aware of—just like we weren't aware that millions were being stolen from us," said Justin Hopson.
The skepticism stems partly from NV Energy's condition that it will only start paying refunds if the PUC stops investigating them and closes the case. Two weeks ago, NV Energy said it would only issue refunds going back eight years to June 2017, but would consider ways to compensate earlier customers going back to 2002 when the overcharging started.
"And then today they said they want to do the full refund. We have to make sure, what was the change? Why did they decide to make that change? And making sure we're holding them accountable," Garcia said.
Audrey Peral of CHISPA Nevada expressed deep distrust of the utility's motives.
"NV Energy said the PUC didn't even have the authority to force them to pay full refunds. Did they learn something new that suddenly made them so willing to settle out of court? Are there more overcharges that we don't know about? Is there more to this story? How can we trust NV Energy after so many years of cheating customers like this?" Peral said. "I know as consumers we personally don't trust NV Energy to do what's right by customers, and we need the PUC to continue to hold them accountable."
"We understand that this has had a real big impact on our customers who are affected by this multi-family misclassification, and we want to make sure that we get their full refunds to our active customers as quickly as we can," Delaney said.
Customers want accountability, not just acknowledgment.
"Whether the company benefited is irrelevant. Customers were billed for more than they owed, period," said Allison Farr of Solar United Neighbors.
Some customers have little faith in the PUC's ability to properly hold NV Energy accountable.
"You're charged with taking care of the community. And to be frank, that's not the public image that you have," Leslie Vega of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada told PUC Chairperson Hayley Williamson. "The remedy can't be whatever's easy for NV Energy, whatever's easy for you."
The Attorney General's office is not ready to settle, saying they disagree with how NV Energy is calculating interest owed to customers on the overcharges. They also still need to review NV Energy's third-party audit for accuracy.
"We still don't know where we're at with respect to how many consumers have been harmed, where they're at, who are they, and what's the final amount. We do not know that," said Sam Taylor of the Bureau of Consumer Protection.
NV Energy says it will take four to seven months to refund customers. But the money won't start flowing until and unless the PUC formally decides to accept their proposal. The PUC is giving all parties the chance to keep working on an agreeable solution and submit more information over the next few weeks.
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