LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Dozens of NV Energy customers, including many seniors, were left waiting outside in triple-digit heat for a chance to speak at the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada’s annual consumer hearing.
The commission had only one room open with limited seating. Customers were only allowed inside when it was their turn to speak. Outside, police presence increased and prime parking spaces were blocked off.
Metro police confirmed they were assigned to block off West Diablo Drive to ensure there were no issues.
MORE ON FOX5: Las Vegas utility customers rally against NV Energy daily demand charge ahead of PUCN hearing
The hearing came one day after customers gathered to protest NV Energy’s daily demand charge. Residents, workers, faith leaders and community advocates rallied outside the PUCN offices, calling on regulators to scrap the proposed rate structure and expand opportunities for public input.
The billing model
The daily demand charge is a new rate structure that would charge customers based on their highest 15-minute spike in energy use each day. The pricing policy has been delayed amid community pushback.
Critics say it will punish working families for simply cooking dinner and doing laundry at the same time.
NV Energy refuted those claims and said many customers will not see a significant increase in their billing. The demand rate was put in place to ensure all customers, including solar customers, pay their fair share.
“There will be little to no impact or change for the majority of customers,” said Katie Nannini, director of communications for NV Energy. “The push for this was to make sure that all customers are paying for the infrastructure that it cost to deliver energy.”
Speakers at the rally also called for greater transparency from both NV Energy and the utilities commission. Organizers said the commission scheduled only one public hearing during daytime hours despite heightened concern over rising energy bills and extreme summer heat.
Leslie Vega, a community organizer at the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, waited outside for several hours.
“There are supposed to be two consumer sessions typically; the commissioners allow a 1 p.m. and a 6 p.m. They canceled the 6 p.m. meeting, and they closed one of the hearing rooms for the 1 p.m., and now they have had folks waiting out here for about an hour,” Vega said. “Unheard, unprioritized, and I am losing confidence.”
The rally followed a protest earlier this month at an electric utility conference at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas, where demonstrators urged NV Energy’s CEO to cancel the daily demand charge.
The PUCN said it would need questions submitted by email before providing a written statement about how the hearing was handled.
Property management confirmed that people were required to wait outside due to safety concerns.
NV Energy said it has no plans to host a consumer session of its own. The utility is also seeking approval to collect an additional $500 million from Nevada ratepayers for wildfire insurance.
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