Nevada Senate clears trio of energy bills on storage, efficiency, utility planning
The three bills will now head to the Nevada Assembly for consideration, with observers saying the measures will be “integral in shaping the new Nevada and cementing its place as a national leader on advanced energy.”
The three bills establish studying a storage mandate, annual energy efficiency goals and to require utilities to consider environmental and economic costs in their long-term planning.
SB 204 would direct the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada to study a storage mandate for the state’s utilities, and if it is determined cost-effective then regulators would establish annual requirements.
SB 150 would establish annual energy efficiency goals as well as performance-based mechanisms to reward utilities for meeting or exceeding the annual metrics. The benchmarks in 2018 would be 1% of all retail electricity sales, 1.2% in 2019, 1.4% in 2020, and 1.5% for years 2021-2025, with incentives for exceeding those levels.
Senate Bill 65, submitted by the Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval’s energy office, would revise the loading order in the state’s integrated resource plan “to consider economic and environmental benefits,” according to Advanced Energy Economy. Currently, the order prioritizes resources that reduce energy costs and demand.
