Utilities commission approves plan for transmission line

It was more complicated than the biggest murder trial, and its documentation ran longer than the Bible.

And on Wednesday, the case involving power utility NV Energy's integrated-resource plan culminated in final approval.

After hearing from 52 witnesses, sifting through 2,820 pages of transcripts and studying 237 marked exhibits, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada granted the official OK to NV Energy's proposal outlining how it will obtain and finance power for the next two decades. The plan features a $510 million transmission line, a $301 million smart-metering initiative and more than 400 megawatts' worth of renewable-power purchases.

NV Energy officials praised the commission's decision.

"The (final) order is a very important order for our customers, for our company and for our state," said Michael Yackira, president and chief executive officer of NV Energy.

To see how important it is, Yackira said, consider that transmission line, a 235-mile, 500-kilovolt project that would run from Ely to NV Energy's Harry Allen Generating Station in Apex. Construction on the One Nevada Line (ONLine) could begin by the end of 2010, and once building is under way in earnest, the line will employ 400 workers.

"We're going to be creating jobs, and that's good for the state," Yackira said.

Once it's complete in late 2012 or early 2013, ONLine will link NV Energy's northern and southern operations and allow the utility to distribute renewable power generated in rural Nevada. NV Energy will codevelop the project with LS Power and own 25 percent of the line.

NV Energy will also begin work on its smart-meter initiative Advanced Service Delivery in the fall. Through Advanced Service Delivery, NV Energy will replace 1.45 million meters in the state with digital counters allowing two-way communication between the utility and the consumer.

Optional peak-pricing programs that charge more for consumption during high-use periods could follow, but the commission will hold a separate investigation into how those programs might look.

Commission Chairman Sam Thompson said during Wednesday's meeting that the agency will carefully oversee the rollout of Advanced Service Delivery. Smart meters have generated consumer backlash in some areas, including California, Texas and Maryland.

"While the commission does accept the ASD proposal with the conditions and the compliance terms specified in the order, the commission will certainly hold the companies to a high standard regarding the execution of the program in order to ensure the potential benefits are realized, and that these benefits flow to the company's customers in a manner that is equitable and commensurate with the risk involved in this endeavor," Thompson said.

Thompson also toned down his language regarding Ormat, a Reno geothermal developer.

His initial order noted that the company had a "history of inferior project performance," but Thompson rephrased the comments in his final order to say the company had a history of "under-performance."

Ormat officials said last week that the company has exceeded its contract expectations for renewable-power credits delivered to the state and to NV Energy.

The commissioners agreed to investigate the request-for-proposal procedures that NV Energy uses to rustle up bids for renewable power. The idea? To determine if the process could be improved to ensure that NV Energy is "getting the best and most realistic projects," said Commissioner Rebecca Wagner.

Yackira called NV Energy a "continuous-improvement" company, and said he favors doing what's necessary to improve the request-for-proposal process.

State consumer advocate Eric Witkoski didn't respond by press time to a request for comment.

The Southwest Energy Efficiency Project released a statement praising the decision, saying that the resource plan's call for $210 million investment in power-saving programs will save ratepayers $495 million over 20 years.

NV Energy must file another integrated-resource plan in three years.

Contact reporter Jennifer Robison at jrobison
@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512.