EDITORIAL: Nevada utility regulator issues broadside against the Energy Choice Initiative
Question 3 would open Nevada’s energy market to competition and passed with 72 percent support in 2016. Because the measure amends the state constitution, it must again receive voter approval in 2018 before it becomes law.
Defenders of the current monopoly have now begun to launch their offensive in advance of the November election.
On Wednesday, Joe Reynolds, chairman of the Nevada Public Utilities Commission, unveiled a 109-page advisory report predicting all matter of disaster if state residents were freed from the status quo and allowed to select their own electricity providers. Mr. Reynolds writes that his report does not “advocate or take any position supporting or opposing” the proposal, but that’s patently absurd. His “key findings” all warn of various negative consequences if the initiative were to become law. His paper exudes doom and gloom.
The PUC is a regulatory body, not an advocacy group. Should a quasi-government agency be engaging in taxpayer-funded lobbying intended to influence the outcome of a ballot question? No doubt, the role of the PUC will be diminished in a competitive energy marketplace. Mr. Reynolds’ one-sided assessment reads like an exercise in self-preservation.
Full disclosure: The initiative has received financial support from Las Vegas Sands Corp. The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Sheldon Adelson, the chairman and CEO of Sands. This newspaper endorsed Question 3 in 2016.
The pros and cons of the Energy Choice Initiative will no doubt be the subject of vigorous debate in the coming months. That’s as it should be. But voters shouldn’t be fooled into thinking that Mr. Reynolds’ report is the work of a neutral and impartial observer.
