Nevada Power Co. will change name to NV Energy

The company is also proposing a statewide rate plan, but Chief Executive Michael Yackira said it was unclear what effect that would have on rates in Southern Nevada.

Effective Monday, both electric utilities will be called NV Energy, except on some legal documents.

The holding company needs shareholder approval to change its name to NV Energy Inc., change its corporate charter and replace SRP with a stock symbol that sounds more like the new corporate name. Sierra Pacific Resources intends to send out a proxy to shareholders this week, calling for a vote to make the holding company changes.

Analysts are unsure whether the corporate branding change will significantly affect rates.

The company shareholders, rather than its customers, will pay the undisclosed cost of advice it received from branding consultancy Addison Whitney of Charlotte, N.C., said Yackira.

In addition, the company said shareholders, rather than customers, will bear the cost of changing signs and printed materials.

Although it’s costly to replace signs and change corporate printed materials, “they get a lot more bang for their buck when the stuff they do is positive” and when the electric utilities have the same name, said Jack Schibrowsky, professor of marketing at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

“There are some economies of scale in trying to promote one name instead of two,” Schibrowsky said. “They probably should have done this when they merged (in 1999).”

However, Schibrowsky wondered: “How much brand equity have they built up in the names they have now?”

Nevada Power Co. has a positive image in Southern Nevada, he said, because of its contributions to sports leagues and charities.

Sierra Pacific Resources, however, sounds like a regional company, rather than one that does most of its business in Nevada, the professor said.

“Trying to keep Nevada in their name might help their image over time,” he said, citing Nevada’s strong sense of independence from other states.

Former Nevada consumer advocate Tim Hay said: “They have a huge historical investment in the name (Nevada Power). So they should have a good reason for changing it.”

He added: “Most charitably, I would hope it’s a new strategic direction for the company and not just a name change.”

He hoped the company change reflects a plan to become actively involved in developing its own renewable power, rather than contracting with third parties for solar, geothermal and wind power.

The utility company mentioned its interest in exploring new opportunities, including smart meters for residential customers, advanced battery storage technology and plug-in, hybrid autos.

State consumer advocate Eric Witkoski said “some of the details need to be fleshed out” before he could comment on the name change significance.

Yet, Witkoski already has decided he doesn’t like Yackira’s proposal to have one set of rates for the entire state, rather than separate rates for Southern Nevada and Northern Nevada.

“That would be a concern,” Witkoski said.

Hay also questioned whether state officials would allow the company to establish one rate schedule for the entire state, because Northern and Southern Nevada operations are so different.

NV Energy’s Northern Nevada power plants generate more electricity than customers need, he said, and Southern Nevada must buy wholesale power to supplement its power generation capacity.

The utilities probably would need new legislation as well as approval of the Public Utilities Commission to adopt one schedule of rates for both Northern and Southern Nevada customers, Hay said. Officials may balk if a unified rate schedule would cause Northern Nevadans to subsidize Southern Nevada rates or vice versa.

And Yackira said it’s not clear whether going to a single rate schedule statewide in the future would increase or decrease the rates Southern Nevadans’ pay for electricity.

Contact reporter John G. Edwards at jedwards@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0420.