Who approved the Electric Daisy Carnival?
To the editor:
My friend says that around the world, money talks. In Las Vegas, it sings.
In the early 1960s, I was a family doctor with a home office in Peekskill, N.Y. They had an outdoor festival in Woodstock. It wasn't that close to Peekskill, but we did get a half-dozen "wanderers" from Woodstock -- disheveled, filthy, drugged-out, pathetic, penniless dregs of society.
I abided by my Hippocratic oath and covered the emergency at our local hospital to take care of the Woodstock emigrants. It cost our community time and money.
Are the promoters of this weekend's insane event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Electric Daisy Carnival, paying the full cost of having it in Southern Nevada? I do not understand Clark County government permitting this type of an event. It's like announcing a repeat of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral using live ammunition.
Leonard Kreisler
Las Vegas
Energy bill
To the editor:
Nevada has been a leader in renewable energy development for more than a decade, and NV Energy supports our state's desire to continue its leadership position. While we believe Assembly Bill 416 contained important energy policy regarding Nevada's future involvement in renewable energy development, we respect the governor's decision to veto this bill.
Much has been said and written in the media about the proposal and our intent in supporting the legislation. Therefore, I feel it is necessary to clarify three points:
1. AB416 would not have automatically approved transmission projects for the exportation of renewable energy.
2. NV Energy would have been required to obtain the approval of the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada for every mile of transmission built.
3. This bill did not place the cost of building these transmission lines on NV Energy customers.
Nevada requires that 25 percent of the state's energy come from renewable resources by 2025. While this is one of the most aggressive renewable initiatives in the nation, the potential for renewable energy development in Nevada exceeds that amount. So to encourage economic development and diversity, new transmission lines are necessary for Nevada to utilize this native resource for export to markets such as California and the desert Southwest. Indeed, development of renewable projects is dependent on new transmission facilities. That is why almost all renewable energy developers joined in a coalition supporting the goals of AB416, because this legislation would facilitate the development of our state's vast renewable energy potential.
AB416 was an attempt to remove the barriers to exporting energy to markets outside Nevada by the regulated utility. It would have allowed NV Energy to apply for approval from the PUC and clarify its authority to evaluate and approve regulated utility-proposed transmission projects for export that may not necessarily be used to serve Nevada customers. It also defined a process for PUC review and approval to minimize customer risk and assure the costs associated with building such projects are prudently incurred and in support of state policies.
As I stated earlier, AB416 did not automatically approve transmission projects; the PUC was to be ultimately tasked with approval of these activities. AB416 instead recognized that timing for review and approval must harmonize with other planning activities that need to occur in connection with this transmission development.
The bill would not have placed the cost of building these transmission lines on NV Energy customers; quite the contrary, it was consistent with NV Energy's renewable transmission initiative, which is designed to have the developers or users of the transmission lines needed to support renewable development pay for their costs, not our customers. We were very clear that if the projects are not supported by prospective participants, they would not be presented to the PUC for approval. Suggesting that the legislation could cost our customers $1 billion is just not true.
Nevadans stand to gain from renewable energy development. Such development will create new construction and long-term maintenance jobs as well as add revenue to local and state governments through increased property and sales tax. NV Energy will continue, within the confines of existing regulation, to move forward with its process to determine market interest in potential transmission development for renewable energy export. The possible benefits are much too important to leave unexplored.
Finally, NV Energy looks forward to working with Gov. Brian Sandoval, U.S. Sen. Harry Reid and other state and federal leaders to identify opportunities for Nevadans to capitalize on our state's abundant natural resources while ensuring cost protection for our customers.
Michael W. Yackira
Las Vegas
The writer is president and chief executive officer of NV Energy.
Beam me up
To the editor:
I agree completely with Paul Carman's Tuesday letter to the editor, "Let the rich cover Social Security gap," and I am continually amazed and dismayed that no legislators seem to take notice of this obvious solution.
I emphatically include a written comment to this effect on all the solicitations I receive from causes and politicians of all stripes seeking monetary contributions and opinions, but they all seem to fall into a black hole. As the bumper stickers and T-shirts playing off "Start Trek" used to say, "Beam me up, Scotty. There's no intelligent life down here."
Allan Magruder
Las Vegas
