(The Center Square) – Energy bills for Southern Nevada residents will soon have a new look, with prices determined by demand instead of total usage.
Energy experts called it the first of its kind in the country, and the utility company behind the change, NV Energy, said it won’t increase customers’ bills and will give consumers more control over their costs.
But a conservationist group in the Western U.S., Western Resource Advocates, has expressed doubt about whether the change, which is designed to increase revenues for NV Energy, will benefit consumers.
The systemic change, first proposed by NV Energy in June, was approved unanimously and without debate by the three-person Nevada Public Utilities Commission.
Starting in April 2026, “demand charges” will have Southern Nevada customers pay based on their daily 15-minute peak energy usage.
The 15-minute demand charge will be multiplied by four to make an hourly rate, which will then be multiplied by a cost per kilowatt hour to make a daily rate. The cost per kilowatt hour of energy will be lowered when the switch happens.
“This convoluted charge will largely be a black box for most residential customers, even those who try to understand their bills and manage their energy use,” said the Western Resource Advocates.
“Most customers do not have the tools necessary to avoid or mitigate a high daily demand charge, and data from NV Energy is not available in real time,” WRA said. “Customers will be incentivized to avoid energy spikes, like running two appliances at once, rather than shifting their energy use to cleaner times of the day, thus muddying their ability to save money and reduce emissions.”
The change comes as NV Energy looks to recover infrastructure investments it made. It was approved to increase its revenue by an unspecified “less than two-thirds” of an initially requested $224 million.
The unanimous system overhaul was approved even as NV Energy has yet to specify how much Southern Nevadans will be paying for the new bill. They have until Oct. 1 to calculate final rate adjustments.
NV Energy declined to speak to The Center Square, but forwarded a statement from NV Energy President and CEO Brandon Barkhuff.
“This change does not increase bills but changes the existing structure of the bill,” Barkhuff said. “This puts the control of energy usage into customers’ hands and allows for a more efficient use of the energy system.”
Demand charges are already used in Nevada for large energy users, such as casinos. The April 2026 change would make Southern Nevada the first investor-owned utility to set demand charges on regular people.
NV Energy has touted the system, saying it will encourage customers to spread out energy usage throughout the day.
In the months before the big switch, NV Energy said it would start a “robust customer education and communications plan.”
