Agreement to keep Switch with Nevada Power approved

CARSON CITY — An agreement struck between Switch, NV Energy and state regulators that would keep the the data storage company as a customer of Nevada Power Co. was approved Thursday by the state Public Utilities Commission.

The agreement will require a number of additional steps before all elements of the settlement can be implemented, which will require further approval by the commission. It will also put on hold a request for reconsideration by Switch to exit Nevada Power until the agreement is fully implemented.

The agreement was approved in just moments with no comment by the commission.

The agreement will allow Switch‘s expanding business in Southern Nevada to be served with 100 percent renewable energy.

As part of the settlement, Switch‘s growing energy load would be served from a new 100-megawatt solar photovoltaic project to be constructed by First Solar, north of Las Vegas. The new solar facility, to go into commercial operation in late 2016 and be named Switch Station, would deliver renewable energy to the NV Energy transmission and distribution grid.

This project will require further review and approval by state regulators.

Switch was the first large Nevada company in recent years to seek to leave Nevada Power and seek its own electricity on the wholesale market. The PUC however, in a vote in June, rejected the company's "exit" application even with a $27 million "exit" fee to cover the utility‘s infrastructure development in part to provide the company with its energy needs.

Three major gaming companies, Wynn Las Vegas, MGM Resorts International and the Las Vegas Sands Corp., have also filed applications to leave Nevada Power and seek their own energy supplies on the open market. A fourth company, Caesars, has filed a notice to leave as well. The applications from the three gaming companies are now under review by the PUC.

As part of the agreement, Switch will receive service under NV Energy‘s High Load Factor tariff schedule, which was developed and approved by the PUC in 2014. This rate schedule recognizes the unique attributes of companies such as Switch that run their facilities at steady, higher demands through the course of the day and more importantly all night.

"My goal for a number of years has been to move Switch, and the customers we serve through our full service data and technology centers in Nevada, to 100 percent green, renewable energy," said Rob Roy, Switch founder and CEO, in announcing the agreement with NV Energy earlier this month. "Unfortunately, that program was not made available under the previous management at NV Energy. It is the primary reason we chose to look last year at options outside the NV Energy system.

"While we may have been able to find energy in the market at a better price, I am pleased with what NV Energy has delivered as a solution to our needs," he said.

Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900. Find him on Twitter: @seanw801