NV Energy-Buffett deal likely to raise rates, state officials warn, according to an article in the Las Vegas Sun.
And the staff of the PUC said there could be “potential harm to ratepayers” if the current financial acquisition is approved.
Consumer Advocate Eric Witkoski said NV Energy customers are already “paying very high electricity rates, which are producing extremely high profits for NV Energy.”
Part of the transaction provides that a $2 billion bonus would be paid to current shareholders by the new owners, Witkoski said. The $2 billion “provides a benefit to NV Energy officers and stockholders but not to customers” who would have to pay part of this $2 billion.
Between that and the effects of shutting down NV Energy’s coal-fired generating capacity, expect electricity rates to skyrocket. Especially so, since their plan to replace the coal with natural-gas plants isn’t likely to pass muster with the environmentalists, who will do everything within their power to stop it.
In earlier filings, the Sierra Club and Nevadans for Clean Affordable Reliable Energy asked the PUC to ensure that MidAmerican would pursue such projects as solar and wind-driven facilities.
The cost to consumers of employing these types of sources, of course, is much more than coal or natural gas.
