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Committee reviews bill to raise thresholds for 'small' water and sewer utilities
Summary
Assemblymember Bert Gurer told the Senate Committee on Growth and Infrastructure that AB 449 would raise the statutory thresholds defining a "small" water and sewer utility to let more systems use simplified rate‑setting procedures.
Assemblymember Bert Gurer, the bill sponsor, and attorneys for small utilities told the Senate Committee on Growth and Infrastructure on the record that Assembly Bill 449 would raise the statutory thresholds that let smaller water and sewer systems use simplified rate-setting procedures administered by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUC).
The bill would change the statutory customer threshold from 3,000 to 4,000 customers and raise an annual gross sales limit from $2,000,000 to $4,000,000. It also would increase the cap for “advice letter” revenue changes — a simplified filing any utility can use to change rates — from $15,000 to $100,000, the presenters said. Assemblymember Bert Gurer asked the committee for support.
Why it matters: supporters said raising the thresholds reflects inflation and 21st‑century costs and would let more small utilities avoid costly full rate cases, which the presenters said can be expensive and whose costs can be passed on to ratepayers. The PUC appeared in a neutral position and thanked the sponsor for working with the agency on the draft.
Details presented: Karen Peterson, an attorney representing Pahrump Utility Company and other small utilities, told senators that the PUC is required by statute to adopt simplified procedures and one methodology must use a federally recognized inflation index. Peterson said the customer threshold had not been changed in 33 years (last adjusted from 2,000 to 3,000 in 1991) and the dollar limit was last raised in 2009. She said the simplified procedures let small utilities change rates without a full rate case and noted the 2024 inflation index the commission provided (2.25 percent).
Garrett Weir, general counsel for the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, testified in neutral and said the PUC appreciated the sponsor working with the agency and made himself available for questions.
No witness in Carson City, Las Vegas or on the phone opposed the bill at the hearing; no committee vote was recorded on the transcript.
Next steps and record: the committee opened and then closed the public hearing on AB 449 after receiving neutral testimony from the PUC and hearing no callers in support or opposition during the phone‑in period.
Ending note: committee members asked clarifying questions but did not record a committee vote on AB 449 during the hearing on the transcript.
