FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2018
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On June 1, NV Energy filed a new three-year demand-side management (DSM) plan in conjunction with a new Integrated Resource Plan. The new DSM plan calls for the utility to spend $197 million on electric DSM programs during 2019-21, approximately 30 percent more than the utility spent during 2015-17.
The plan is designed to save approximately 344 million kilowatt-hours from energy efficiency programs implemented annually during 2019-21. The annual energy savings targets are equivalent to 1.15 percent of NV Energy’s retail electricity sales. This is significant bump up from savings levels achieved by the utility in recent years.
The DSM plan is very cost effective with a projected benefit-cost ratio of 2.15 under the Total Resource Cost (TRC) test. NV Energy estimates that implementing the three-year DSM plan will result in $296 million in net economic benefits for its customers. In addition, the new DSM plan is projected to save 464 million gallons of water and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 1.3 million tons over the lifetime of the energy efficiency measures installed during 2019-2021.
The new DSM plan includes restarting residential lighting and pool pump efficiency programs, cost-effective programs previously eliminated by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN). The plan also includes a new energy efficiency program targeted to low-income households, as well as expansion of business efficiency programs.
Howard Geller, executive director of the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), welcomed the plan’s emphasis on energy efficiency. “This plan includes a significant expansion of energy efficiency programs. And while we can always do more to save electricity, this plan charts a course toward lower energy use and greater cost savings for families and businesses,” Geller said.
SWEEP assisted NV Energy as it prepared the new DSM plan, and will participate in the PUCN proceeding in which the plan will be reviewed and approved. NV Energy is the sole investor-owned electric utility serving nearly 1.3 million customers in Nevada.
