LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The initial attempt to draft a bill that would ban daily demand charges for residential electric utility customers in Nevada has failed.
On Tuesday, the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Growth and Infrastructure declined to advance a bill draft request that was proposed by Committee Chair and Assemblymember Howard Watts. Work session documents state the request was brought up in response to NV Energy's daily demand charge.
The charge, now expected to go into effect in January, would be calculated based on a customer's highest energy use in any 15 minutes of the day, which NV Energy estimates would amount to about $20 for the average consumer. NV Energy has also told Channel 13 it will lower the base rate it charges per kilowatt hour of electricity.
Public comment lasted for about an hour with several consumers and groups speaking in support of the proposed ban. Some were concerned about the timing of the daily demand charge being implemented.
WATCH: NV Energy pushes back daily demand charge again
"As legislators, you've no doubt already heard concerns from your constituents about the high electricity bills and the extremely unpopular daily demand charge," said Dr. Mary House, CEO and co-founder of CHR, Inc., a faith-based nonprofit organization in Las Vegas. "With NV Energy's continuing struggle to clearly explain to the customers how it works and how it will affect their bills, the full impact of the charge will not become clear until the following summer, when the extreme heat drives up electricity use. By delaying implementations until winter, customers will have little opportunity to understand how the change affects their bills before the 2027 legislative session concludes, leaving many families to experience the greatest impacts only after lawmakers have adjourned."
Others cited NV Energy's recent rate misclassification scandal as reason to question the utility provider's ability to handle the rollout of daily demand.
WATCH: NV Energy customers to receive overcharge scandal refunds
Tony Chavez, a community advocate who serves on the board of the 18b Las Vegas Arts District, argued taking action to address daily demand would benefit working families.
"It's hitting a point now where I'm begging the legislature now to please stand up for us as a community, to stand up for us as citizens of this state, to these big corporations, and especially look at their track record that they've had in this community," Chavez said.
Representatives from NV Energy told lawmakers the daily demand charge has stood up to an extensive independent review and months of contested proceedings.
"Two courts in two jurisdictions later examined the full record and upheld the [Public Utilities] Commission's decision. This is not a rate increase. It is a rate restructuring. Other parts of the bill are reduced at the same time, and the change does not bring NV Energy any additional revenue," said Marie Steele, vice president of Integrated Energy Services at NV Energy. "Banning a rate structure that has already been approved by the commission and upheld by two courts before customers have even seen real bills is premature. The commission retains full authority to adjust or reverse the charge if results differ from projections."
Those thoughts were echoed by Garrett Weir, general counsel for the PUCN.
"That's a case that involved a record-exceeding 40,000 pages of evidence, over 200 exhibits, 70 expert witnesses who were subject to cross-examination over a period of five days of hearings. And based on that evidentiary record, the commission found that restructured rate design that included a demand-based billing component was likely to benefit the vast majority of customers," Weir told lawmakers.
Weir also reiterated what commissioners have said in the past, which is this decision is not set in stone.
"The commission provided expansive reporting requirements and expressly contemplated revisiting the issue of the demand-based billing component if the benefits the commission believes will come to fruition don't," Weir said. "Commission approval is therefore accompanied with safeguards to protect the public from unintended consequences."
WATCH: NV Energy customers still have concerns about daily demand charge coming next year
The daily demand charge has also led to lawsuits questioning its legality.
Back in May, Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus denied a petition from the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection, stating she didn't believe the court had the authority to overturn the commission's decision.
That case has been appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court. No future hearings are scheduled, as of Tuesday afternoon.
The committee declining to advance the matter on Tuesday doesn't mean it can't be brought back for consideration in the future.
