LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Nevada's public utility regulator just approved a new rate model that will change how NV Energy bills its customers in Southern Nevada.
The change, approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada on Tuesday morning, comes in response to a request from NV Energy to increase the rate it charges consumers for power. Set to take effect in April 2026, the new billing structure varies what consumers pay based on so-called "daily demand charges."
Along with many of you, we spent much of Tuesday trying to figure out what this will mean and how it will impact all of our power bills.
So, let's break it down.
What is the daily demand charge, and how would it work?
We followed up with NV Energy after Tuesday's meeting, hoping to get a clearer picture of how the charge will be calculated. Here's what we found out:
The daily demand charge will be calculated by taking your highest energy use over a 15-minute period and multiplying it by the current kilowatt-per-hour rate, NV Energy's spokesperson told us. That charge will then be added to your bill. For the average customer, NV Energy estimates this will amount to roughly $20 per month.
To compensate for the new charge, NV Energy will also lower the base rate it charges per kilowatt hour of electricity, Channel 13 was told, so you may not notice a substantial difference between your new bill and your current one.
You might be wondering (like we were): If it's not going to change our bills, why add the charge in the first place?
The aim is to incentivize customers to decrease their overall energy usage by trying to keep their daily demand charge as low as possible, NV Energy and the PUC indicated. The PUC suggests consumers do this by "spreading out their energy usage and avoiding simultaneous operation of numerous appliances."
The overall goal, as explained to us, is for the daily demand charge to result in less strain on the power grid during times of peak demand.
Why would NV Energy need to increase rates in the first place?
In past statements, NV Energy has stressed that its rate increase requests are intended to recoup the costs of projects it undertakes to shore up the power grid.
But as Channel 13 has reported, the company has also given consumers reason to question how that money is being spent.
You might remember that NV Energy's former CEO resigned in May after our reporting helped expose a systemic overcharging scandal.
A few weeks later, a Bureau of Consumer Protection report found NV Energy tried to pass on the cost of luxury hotels, travel and liquor to its ratepayers, including a $1.2 million tab at Red Rock Resort.
Darcy Spears breaks down what the Bureau of Consumer Protection's report revealed:
According to NV Energy, Nevada customers already pay a lower average rate than the rest of the country. Through June 2025, the company says its rates were 22% lower than the U.S. average and 60% lower than in California.
In a statement responding to the PUC's decision, NV Energy's new CEO, Brandon Barkhuff, wrote that "our teams are hard at work analyzing the impacts of this decision."
"At NV Energy, we are committed to keeping costs low for customers while ensuring customers have energy when and where they need it," Barkhuff stated.