In 2013, the (Nevada) Legislature considered a proposal to phase out coal power. Before he resigned in disgrace, then-Sen. Kelvin Atkinson said replacing coal with renewable and natural gas wouldn’t be “onerous” for ratepayers. The cost would be “a little bit above 3 percent over the next 20 years to the ratepayers.”
Check your bill to see how these promises held up.
The high prices Nevadans are experiencing today weren’t impossible to predict. Writing in 2013, Geoffrey Lawrence, research director of Nevada Policy, warned, “There is no cap on rate hikes caused by an increase in natural gas prices, which are historically volatile.” He noted ratepayers would have to pay NV Energy for building new power plants. In 2020, this editorial page wrote that increasing Nevada’s renewable mandate would lead to higher prices.
And here we are. The problem with solar power is that it’s not reliable. Its power output decreases in the evening, but people still want to run their air conditioning or charge their electric vehicles. As a result, NV Energy — and hence its customers — are paying exorbitant prices for energy when solar falls off and demand is high. Soon, NV Energy will charge ratepayers for new natural gas turbines that will run an average of two hours a day.
If you want lower energy prices, stop listening to the politicians and special interest groups that created the current crisis.
Click Here For Link To Full 9/8/2023 Editorial In Las Vegas Review-Journal: Green energy didn’t lower power bills as promised | EDITORIAL | Las Vegas Review-Journal (reviewjournal.com)
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