Solar, small business disputes: Best stories of 2025 from Emerson Drewes
Not everything is happening on the Strip. Here are some of the top business stories from Emerson Drewes that shaped the neon desert outside and its residents in 2025.
1. NV Energy to change the way it bills customers
A landmark decision that set off a chain reaction of consumer outrage and state intervention. The approval of the NV Energy daily demand charge for residential and small commercial customers effectively will change the way the utility will bill its customers starting in April. The approval in September by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada made NV Energy the first investor-owned utility to implement a demand charge for residential and small commercial customers.
Consumer confusion and multiple attempts to overturn it from solar and environmental advocacy groups and, most notably, the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, came almost immediately after its approval. This is the NV Energy story of the year and one to follow into the next.
Nevada is getting its first children’s hospital. In April, the Review-Journal got to sit down with Lawrence Barnard, the president of the upcoming hospital from Intermountain Health. Barnard spoke about the need for pediatricians in Nevada, the exorbitant costs for out-of-state care, recruitment efforts, hospital design and programming, as well as the construction timeline. Keep an eye out for new developments, with Intermountain planning to break ground at 34 acres at UNLV’s Harry Reid Research and Technology Park in early 2026.
3. Funeral home shut down for failing to cremate bodies: ‘The smell was straight up death’
The story that captivated readers for the month of August: McDermott’s Funeral Home and Cremation Service had been shut down for failing to cremate bodies, unveiling a history of disciplinary infractions. The Las Vegas Review-Journal was the first and only outlet to speak with the owner of the shuttered funeral home, Chris Grant, chronicling a rocky relationship with the Nevada State Board of Funeral & Cemetery Services.
Over 140 bodies were transferred to Davis Funeral Home and families came out with their stories of how their loved ones’ bodies were treated. One family was forced to have a closed casket funeral, while another filed a lawsuit after it took over a month for his wife’s body to be cremated.
4. Solar plant off I-15 near Las Vegas faces cloudy future; units closing
Travelers and birds temporarily rejoiced when Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating Facility announced plans to shut down two-thirds of its solar operation. In January, the Review-Journal broke the story about PG&E terminating its two long-term purchase power agreements with owners Solar Partners. The plant has long been known as an eyesore for travelers on Interstate 15 and acts as a serial bird killer. The announcement left questions lingering about the efficacy of solar and federal investments into such plants, with Ivanpah having received a $1.6 billion loan which was not fully paid back.
Eventually, the California Public Utilities Commission denied PG&E’s contract termination agreement with the plant’s owners, forcing the utility to continue purchasing power from the plant. The CPUC cited shifting federal priorities and policy regarding renewables project development, as well as stranding sunk infrastructure costs as their reasoning.
5. Las Vegas diner in dispute with large SoCal chain over name
Tensions between Nevada and California extend to small business disputes. In May, the Las Vegas Review-Journal spoke to Norman Chan, the owner of the now-named NORMAN’S Diner, but that wasn’t always its name. Chan was forced to change his name from NORM’S Diner after Southern California chain NORMS Restaurant moved into town in 2021. The chain claimed people were getting confused online and demanded Chan change the name of his 12-table, mom and pop diner. From there, years of terse emails and cease and desists were sent to Chan, eventually forcing him to rebrand his restaurant twice, costing him upwards of $10,000.
Contact Emerson Drewes at edrewes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @EmersonDrewes on X.
