Utilities, Commercial, Sourcing Renewables  -  March 7, 2019

Nevada GreenEnergy Rider to benefit large power users

Large commercial customers, such as casinos and government entities, in Nevada may soon be able to take advantage of additional renewable energy resources and reduce the cost of their electric service under a new program in development with the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada. 

NV Energy last week filed additional information with the PUC of Nevada about their Nevada GreenEnergy Rider program, which would make available more than a million megawatt-hours of renewable energy resources to eligible commercial customers.

"NGR 2.0 offers eligible customers the ability to pay a rate directly tied to low-cost, Nevada-based solar resources, which is in line with our own philosophy to provide all of our customers with clean energy, while keeping rates low," Doug Cannon, NV Energy president and CEO, said in a statement. "This sustainable energy solution is a win-win as eligible customers will reduce their energy costs while NV Energy retains the renewable energy credits in order to comply with Nevada’s renewable portfolio standard for the benefit of all customers."

The NGR 2.0 tariff will need to be approved by the PUC in April. The project follows other previous efforts from NV Energy to maintain its customers through renewable energy programs, such as its Integrated Resource Plan, which was approved by the PUCN in December.

Commercial customers who use at least 8,760 MWh of energy and have a load factor of 50% with an annual usage of 1 MW or more are eligible to participate. Governmental entities need only use 8,760 MWh of energy annually. The initial allotments for the renewable energy rate include up to 565,000 MWh of solar for southern Nevada customers and 375,000 in the north, which combined serves approximately 153 MW of demand, according to NV Energy.

Information on the "open window" process for enrollment will be available online on Monday, March 11. This will include a first-in-time, first-in-right approach to designate renewable energy allotments. The first enrollment window will open on nvenergy.com at 12 p.m. PST on Monday, March 18, 2019, and will remain open until the resource pool is full.

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