Nev. Regulators To Vote On Electric Rate Changes

SANDRA CHEREB

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada's Public Utilities Commission this week will decide whether northern Nevada electric customers should be refunded overpaid charges collected by the region's main utility for fuel costs, and if so, how much.

The PUC is scheduled to vote Wednesday on NV Energy Inc.'s deferred energy account for Sierra Pacific Power Co.

NV Energy is the parent firm of Sierra Pacific in Reno and Nevada Power Co. in southern Nevada.

Nevada's consumer advocate, Eric Witkoski, is urging the three-member commission to refund to consumers all the over-collections in the account because of the recession.

Under state law and commission regulations, rates in the so-called Deferred Energy Adjustment Account are adjusted based on collections and power costs for the previous calendar year. It is used to offset wild swings in energy prices and protect consumers from volatility.

But Witkoski, with the attorney's general's office Bureau of Consumer Protection, says the commission should allow a one-time waiver and base the rate on actual costs through June.