FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 18, 2019
Contacts:
Howard Geller, Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, hgeller@swenergy.org | 303-447-0078
Nadia Perl, Natural Resources Defense Council, nperl@nrdc.org | 510-928-1717
Julianne Basinger, Western Resource Advocates, julianne.basinger@westernresources.org | 801-406-8664
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[CARSON CITY, NV] – The Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Western Resource Advocates today praised the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada’s approval of NV Energy’s plan to spend $55 million on energy efficiency and other demand-side management (DSM) programs in 2020.
Customers of NV Energy will benefit because the programs are designed to help households and businesses served by NV Energy save 358 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year, equal to 1.25 percent of projected electricity sales.
“NV Energy’s energy savings target for 2020 is 44 percent higher than what the utility achieved in 2018. If NV Energy meets its 2020 target, it will help its customers save an amount of energy equivalent to the electricity use of about 33,000 typical households in the state,” said Howard Geller, Executive Director of the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP). “NV Energy’s 2020 demand-side management programs should yield at least $130 million in net economic benefits for the utility and its customers.”
“Energy efficiency is the cheapest, fastest way to meet our energy needs and tackle dirty air,” said Patricia Valderrama, Nevada Policy Director at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “When our appliances, heating systems, and lighting are designed with energy efficiency in mind, we pay less in utility bills, reduce climate pollution, and save water.”
“This agreement expands the demand response programs that NV Energy will implement in 2020 while maintaining a dynamic program to maximize energy savings,” said Cameron Dyer, Western Resource Advocates’ Clean Energy Program attorney in Nevada. “We applaud NV Energy and other stakeholders for increasing the energy savings targets as well as demand response goals in 2020.”
The new 2020 energy efficiency and demand-side management programs budget and energy savings target were presented to the commission through a stipulation agreement supported by NV Energy; the Public Utilities Commission’s staff; the Bureau of Consumer Protection; Nevadans for Clean Affordable, Reliable Energy (NCARE); the Natural Resources Defense Council; and the Sierra Club. No organization opposed the agreement. Western Resource Advocates and SWEEP are members of NCARE, a nonprofit cooperative association formed to present information that promotes the expanded use of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other clean energy technologies in Nevada.
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The Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) is a public interest organization advancing more efficient energy use and clean transportation options in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. For more information, visit www.swenergy.org
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world’s natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.
Western Resource Advocates works to protect the West’s land, air, and water so that our communities thrive in balance with nature. WRA’s team of scientists, lawyers, and economists craft and implement innovative solutions to the most complex natural resource challenges in the region. For more information, visit: www.westernresourceadvocates.org and follow us on Twitter @wradv and #ProtectTheWest.
