LETTER: No mystery to high energy costs

As reported in the Review-Journal, many Southern Nevada residents are frustrated over the high cost of their utility bills. One person who represents a non-profit organization blames it on Nevada Energy, accusing the company of being interested only in the “profit margin.” The problem with this statement is that the Nevada Public Utilities Commission, is responsible for regulating utility companies in Nevada. This includes approving any change in rates.

There is another reason why our electricity rates have skyrocketed, and we have only ourselves to blame. In 2020 Nevada voters sealed our energy restrictions by approving Question 6 and amending our constitution to mandate that we shift to at least 50 percent renewable energy by 2030. People in the pro-renewable camp preached before the vote that electricity rates would go down when we got away from natural gas and coal. This has turned out to not to be true.

Look no further than California whose electricity bills are the highest in the nation and brownouts occur every summer due to the belief that renewable energy sources are the answer. To get high-cost energy bills down, we must have more competition and still rely on fossil fuels and natural gas for our energy.