A legal challenge to NV Energy’s controversial daily demand charge failed in a Las Vegas courtroom Tuesday, as a judge sided with state regulators and denied a petition brought by the Nevada Attorney General’s Office.
The case centers on the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada’s approval of a new rate structure that charges customers based on their highest 15 minutes of energy use each day. The Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, alongside advocacy group Vote Solar, argued the demand charge violates state law and discourages rooftop solar adoption.
Attorneys for the Bureau of Consumer Protection argued the legislature never gave the PUCN authority to create rates designed to address so-called “cost shifting” between solar and non-solar customers. They also claimed the new rate model reduces the benefits of investing in renewable energy…