NV Energy filed additional information with the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) about the Nevada GreenEnergy Rider (NGR 2.0) that makes available more than a million megawatt hours of renewable energy resources for large commercial customers such as casinos and government entities. This offering will reduce the cost most eligible commercial customers pay for electric service.
According to NV Energy, 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.
NV Energy will use an "open window" period for enrollment, which includes 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 March 18, 2019and will remain open until the resource pool is full.
Information that explains the open window process will be posted on nvenergy.com on March 11, and will include a link to the form contract, a description of program rates with a sample calculation, and a description of the renewable resource rate.
Interested parties will need to provide basic information about their account, including energy consumption and subscription amount. Enrollment forms will be sent to a specific email address and the email receipt time will indicate the customer's priority for allocation purposes. Finally, a signed contract must be provided within 45 days as specified in the tariff or the subscription will be released.
The initial allotments for the renewable energy rate include up to 565,000 megawatt hours of solar for southern Nevadacustomers and 375,000 in the north, which combined serves approximately 153 megawatts of demand. Commercial customers who use at least 8,760 megawatt hours of energy and have a load factor of 50% with an annual usage of one megawatt or more are eligible to participate. Governmental entities need only use 8,760 megawatt hours of energy annually.
The NGR 2.0 tariff, including the "open window" process, is subject to PUCN approval in April, but NV Energy is putting this forward now in response to customers who have expressed interest in this type of program.
In June 2018, NV Energy announced it contracted for more than 1 gigawatt of new renewable energy resources to be built in Nevada, which the utility says is the largest clean energy investment in the state’s history. The resource plan filing requires PUC approval, and is contingent on a statewide ballot question to open the electric energy market.
The plan calls for six solar energy projects and three related battery-energy storage resources with 100 megawatts of capacity. If everything moves forward, the projects should be completed and serving customers by the end of 2021.
The 4th Annual Environmental Leader & Energy Manager Conference takes place May 13 – 15, 2019 in Denver. Learn more here.
