NV Energy chief Caudill will testify before PUC

CARSON CITY — Paul Caudill, president and chief executive of NV Energy, will testify Tuesday before Nevada's Public Utilities Commission on the application by Wynn Las Vegas to withdraw as a customer and buy its power on the open market.

In a highly unusual move, Caudill will address the company's policies, rate structuring and cost savings at the request of Wynn Las Vegas LLC, which in previous comments accused the utility of "over earning" at the expense of ratepayers.

Wynn President Matt Maddox, during a hearing in June, claimed the utility was reaping huge profits from Nevada customers and taking the profits back to parent company Berkshire Hathaway's home office in Omaha, Neb. Maddox said the utility had a 27.7 percent increase in operating profit from 2013 to 2014, but electricity customers saw no break in their bills.

In written comments submitted Monday to the PUC, Caudill said the company during that time cut operating expenses by $59 million. He also noted the company returned $11 million in energy efficiency revenue to customers in 2012. NV Energy, which operates as Nevada Power Co. in Southern Nevada, issued a one-time $15 million credit to customers in 2013.

Caudill said the company is open to discussing changes to the current regulatory compact with all stakeholders.

"My main objective is to manage our operations so that we do not need to request additional amounts for core business operations," Caudill said in his written statement.

"If our customers and external stakeholders believe that reforms are necessary to achieve that objective in a fair and equitable manner, we are more than willing to get together with them, roll up our sleeves and develop solutions that respond to these concerns."

Wynn Las Vegas is one of four big casino companies seeking to cut ties with NV Energy. The others are MGM Resorts International, Caesars and Las Vegas Sands Corp.

The four gambling companies consume about 370 megawatts of electricity during peak times of the year.

The PUC is holding individual hearings on each company's application to exit NV Energy's electricity generating network. Regulators will weigh whether the departure of the large energy users will put an unfair burden on other customers and how much they should pay in exit fees to compensate for lost revenue.

Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 7750687-3901. On Twitter: @SandraChereb