Las Vegas resident tells Public Utilities Commission of Nevada she was pressured over 88‑year‑old mother's power account

Christina Esteras, a Las Vegas resident, told the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada during public comment that employees of NV Energy threatened to disconnect power, demanded proof that her 88‑year‑old mother was alive and repeatedly sought the mother's bank account information.

Esteras said the incidents began after a notice dated 04/15 and that NV Energy staff told the family the company had received a letter from Social Security declaring the mother deceased. "They said my mother was dead, turned off the electrical power, before the notice and said that she had to fly out here to prove that she was alive," Esteras said. She said the family traveled to Nevada, spent hours at the Social Security office and obtained a statement showing the mother continued to receive benefits.

Esteras described interactions with an NV Energy employee she identified as "Ramona," saying Ramona directed the family to speak only with her and later demanded the mother's bank account number and threatened another disconnection unless $500 per month was provided as an ongoing payment. "I refuse to give her the bank account number…they were demanding payment and threatening the phone would be disconnected again," Esteras said.

She also said an NV Energy investigator she named as Alicia (transcript spelled variously "Cager," "Kayser," "Keys") did not investigate the dates and phone‑call records Esteras provided. "I gave her all the dates. It was never investigated," Esteras said.

Esteras told commissioners the family had a zero balance after making a payment but continued to receive threats and inconsistent explanations from NV Energy staff. She said the household lost air conditioning for about seven days during the dispute, that the stress has affected her health, and that the family has since taken a roughly $30,000 loan to install solar in order to leave the utility. Esteras said the family has filed a lawsuit and asked the commission to schedule a hearing and to obtain copies of relevant phone records and internal investigation files.

Commission members did not take formal action in response to the public comment during the meeting; no staff investigation order or hearing date was announced on the record.

The commission opened and closed two public‑comment periods during the meeting; Esteras spoke in the first and again in the final comment period. Public comment at the start and end of the meeting was limited to three minutes per speaker under Nevada law, as noted by the chair.

Esteras' remarks named multiple NV Energy employees (Ramona; an employee identified as Frank Anderson) and the customer's name as Lucy (the 88‑year‑old mother). Several names and spellings appear inconsistently in the transcript; the article uses the spellings most consistently provided by the speaker.