LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Advocacy groups and dozens of residents gathered outside the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) on Monday evening, demanding regulators revisit NV Energy’s recently approved “daily demand charge.”
The Nevada Conservation League, along with community partners, hosted a rally and press conference ahead of the PUCN’s General Consumer Session — an annual opportunity for the public to address commissioners directly.
Originally scheduled for August, the meeting had been delayed following a hacking incident affecting state systems.
Inside the hearing, residents voiced frustration and skepticism over NV Energy’s rate structure, which bases customer bills on the 15 minutes of highest electricity use each day. Many argued the plan punishes families for short bursts of normal activity — such as cooking dinner or cooling their homes.
“For the 15 minutes that we use to let our kids watch TV, make dinner, use the AC, run the dishwasher, they will charge us more — even if we are the picture-perfect definition of energy conservation for the other 23 hours and 45 minutes of the day,” said Camalot Todd with the Nevada Conservation League.
The process feels stacked in favor of a guaranteed profit rather than the public interest,” one resident said. “We’re urging the PUCN to put customers first.
NV Energy maintains that the new structure is needed to recover costs and improve efficiency across the electrical system.
“Right now, there is an imbalance between customers who have solar panels and those who do not,” said NV Energy spokesperson Meghin Delaney. “We do anticipate solar customers will see slightly higher bills — about twelve dollars more on average — while most non-solar customers likely won’t see a change.”
The company also addressed ongoing refunds related to a previous billing issue. In September, NV Energy said that it’s offering to issue $32.6 million in refunds for overcharging customers. They then filed a proposal with the PUCN over incorrectly classifying multi-family premises as single-family dwellings.
“The commission is still considering our proposal to refund customers who were affected by the multifamily billing misclassification,” Delaney added. “They had some questions about the proposal we put forward, and so we’ve got some more time to provide them some more information so that they can feel good about the decision that may be made in that case.”
If approved, the company says active customers will see credits on their bills, while former customers will receive mailed refunds.
Between 2017 and 2024, the misclassifications led to about 60,000 customers being overcharged by more than $17 million, staffers with the PUCN alleged earlier this year. The company also misapplied a rule to cap refunds for some customers at six months.
Community advocates, however, say NV Energy’s recent record raises deeper concerns.
“These scandals just scratch the surface of NV Energy’s bad behavior,” Todd said. “If I had a track record like this, I’d be out of a job.”
The PUCN approved the rate change earlier this year, with the new daily demand charge set to take effect in April 2026.
