LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — As we all continue to wrap our heads around how NV Energy's new "daily demand charge" could affect our energy bills, locals who own electric vehicles are concerned that it might significantly impact them when the charge takes effect next April.
WATCH | Hear from local EV owners expressing concerns how this will effect their budgets
A local EV owner reached out to us Thursday morning with that exact question, so we caught up with him at his Henderson home to hear his concerns.
"I originally saw the reporting on your station that this was happening, so I dug into it a little further and read what NV Energy had produced," said Steve Semos. "Then after I got the email yesterday, I reached out to your station."
Semos says as an electric vehicle owner, he's worried that the daily demand charge could have a disproportionate impact on EV owners like himself, whose highest energy use will likely come while he charges his Tesla overnight.
He walked me through his charging set-up in his garage, showing me that even though his car only took 6 kilowatts overnight, the charger itself used 14 kilowatts of energy to make that happen.
"My back of the envelope estimate is that it's going to cost us an additional $2 a day, which is $60 a month, to charge our EV," Semos said.
Semos worries that could mean $700 more per year on his energy bill.
To break it down, once the daily demand charge kicks in next April, NV Energy would charge 14 cents per kilowatt used in each customer's highest concentration of energy use, regardless of the time of day.
Semos tells Channel 13 that he's walked his neighborhood talking to his neighbors about the upcoming rate change.
"I asked them first if they were aware of it, and they're all livid," Semos said. "I mean, they all spent a lot on their EVs, they put a lot of money behind their solar, but they all feel helpless."
In a statement emailed yesterday, NV Energy maintains "the demand charge was designed not to increase the bill, but to reflect the cost of delivering electricity for individual customers."
NV Energy also called the charge a "revenue neutral proposal," claiming that "it does not bring more money into NV Energy, but it does change how we collect money from customers."
Channel 13 reached out to NV Energy to see if there will be any additional consideration for electric vehicle owners when the daily demand charge takes effect next year, but we didn't hear back from them by our deadline.
Semos says he'd like to see the charge instituted during the highest demand periods for NV Energy, and not a customer's highest 15 minutes of energy use regardless of the time of day.
"They're concerned about people's consumption during high-demand times," Semos said. "If I charge my EV at night, I'm not charging it during high-demand times."
NV Energy says they're planning what they call a "customer education program" next year about all of this, closer to when the daily demand charge launches.
In the meantime, we'll continue to fight for answers about how this daily demand charge will impact you, and as we learn more we'll be sure to keep you posted on-air, online and through our social media platforms.
