Southwest Energy Efficiency Project

2005 Nevada Legislative Effort
Updated: February 07, 2008

SWEEP is working to see passage of the following bills in the 2005 Session of the Nevada State Legislature:

SENATE BILL 188
Making various changes relating to energy.
Sponsored by Senate Commerce and Labor Committee.

03/15/2005: Introduced by the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee.
03/22/2005: Heard by the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee; no action.
03/29/2005: Passed in amended form by the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee.
04/15/2005: Passed by the State Senate on a 21-0 vote.
04/20/2005: Introduced in State Assembly.
05/16/2005: Heard by the State Assembly Commerce and Labor committee; no action.
05/20/2005: Passed by the State Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee.
06/07/2005: Adopted in special session by both the State Senate and State Assembly as part of Assembly Bill 03.
06/17/2005: Assembly Bill 03 is signed into law by Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn.

Though not adopted in the State Legislature’s regular session, SB 188 was incorporated into an omnibus energy efficiency and renewable energy bill, Assembly Bill 03, that both houses of the legislature approved during a special session held on June 7. The bill was signed into law by Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn on June 17, 2005.

Most significantly, AB 03 revises provisions governing the state of Nevada’s renewable energy portfolio standard, allowing electric utilities to receive credits under the portfolio standard for certain energy efficiency measures. Energy efficiency measures are defined as any measure designed, intended, or used to improve energy efficiency if the measure is: installed on or after January 1, 2005; located at the service location of a retail customer in Nevada; this State; reduces the consumption of energy by the retail customer; and the acquisition or installation of the measure is directly subsidized, in whole or in part, by the electric utility for the retail customer. The term does not include: any demand response measure or load limiting measure that shifts the consumption of energy by a retail customer from one period of time to another period; or any solar energy system which qualifies as a renewable energy system and which reduces the consumption of electricity, natural gas, or propane.

AB 03 also establishes policies that will lead to the construction of more energy-efficient “green” buildings by both the public and private sectors. All new construction or major retrofits by state agencies are required to meet the green building standards of the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™) program or an equivalent standard. The legislation also establishes partial exemption from property taxes for privately owned buildings that are certified at the LEED silver level or higher.

In addition, AB 03 updates the statewide building energy code for portions of the state without local energy codes, and it directs the Nevada State Office of Energy to prepare a report for the legislature on model appliance efficiency standards that have been adopted by other states. Several states, including California, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, and Arizona, have adopted energy efficiency standards for appliances that are not currently covered by the federal standards.

SWEEP assisted with the development and advocacy of the energy efficiency provisions in AB 03, in particular the modification of the state’s clean energy portfolio standard. This proposal was included in the Nevada Energy Efficiency Strategy, a report prepared by SWEEP that was issued in January 2005.

© 2002-2008 Southwest Energy Efficiency Project
2260 Baseline Rd. Suite 212, Boulder, CO 80302
(303) 447-0078 fax: (303) 786-8054 info@swenergy.org

Last Updated: 02/07/2008

2005 Nevada Legislative Effort Updated: February 07, 2008

2005 Nevada Legislative Effort
Updated: February 07, 2008