NV Energy responds to lawsuit filed by Switch

CARSON CITY — NV Energy on Wednesday issued a statement in response to a lawsuit filed by Switch over allegations that state regulators unconstitutionally denied the data storage company the ability to purchase 100 percent renewable energy directly from the national market even though the utility was unwilling to satisfy the request.

Switch on Tuesday sued both the Nevada Public Utilities Commission and NV Energy in federal court, alleging it was denied the right to leave as a customer of the utility even though other companies have since been allowed to do so.

When the PUC denied Switch’s exit application last year, the company reached an agreement with NV Energy to remain as a customer for three years.

The lawsuit seeks $31 million in damages.

In its statement, NV Energy said Switch is a “very important customer to NV Energy, and given how far we thought we had come over the past two and a half years of working with their team on a variety of issues and opportunities, we are surprised and disappointed with this turn of events.”

“If we are eventually served with the complaint, we will vigorously defend our company and our employees from baseless claims,” the company, which operates as Nevada Power in Southern Nevada, said in the statement.

The lawsuit was filed in the wake of the revelation that the former PUC general counsel, who resigned in June, commented on matters pending before the agency using a social media pseudonym.

Switch said the comments by former PUC counsel Carolyn Tanner were an inappropriate use of social media and amounted to unprofessional conduct that compromised the PUC’s ability to provide Switch a fair hearing.

Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3820. Find him on Twitter: @seanw801