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Public commenters urge PUCN to delay or deny NV Energy gas additions, propose battery alternatives
Summary
Multiple public commenters urged the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada to delay or deny NV Energy’s request in docket 2405041 to add gas-fired turbines at the North Valmy Generating Station and recommended utility-scale and home battery storage as cleaner alternatives.
Several Carson City ratepayers urged the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada on Monday to delay or deny NV Energy’s plan to add more gas-fired generation to the North Valmy Generating Station, arguing the utility has not provided sufficient transparency or analysis of cleaner alternatives.
Kathy Fulkerson, addressing docket 2405041 during the meeting’s opening public-comment period, said NV Energy’s 2024 Integrated Resource Plan appears to seek up to 900 megawatts of gas-fired generation across two proposals within a year and asked the Commission to "delay or deny NV Energy's request" until the company provides fuller information about costs and benefits.
Other speakers pressed for battery alternatives. Barry Levinson, a Reno resident and NV Energy customer, asked the Commission to require NV Energy to include virtual power plants and both utility-scale and home battery backup in its IRP, saying those options could meet peak demand without building new fossil-fuel peaker plants. "My biggest concern with the IRP is NV Energy's clear intention to build 2 new gas peaker plants," Levinson said.
Robin Palmer, who identified herself as a climate advocate, applauded prior NV Energy proposals for solar-plus-storage and cited a 2024 report in The Lancet on health and climate risks, saying additional gas turbines would not advance Nevada's clean-energy goals. Robert Bastien, a long-time ratepayer, recounted local impacts from heat and wildfire and urged the Commission to favor rooftop solar and storage over more fossil generation.
Chair Haley Williamson acknowledged that docket 2405041 was not on the day’s formal agenda but accepted the speakers' remarks for the record; no commissioners engaged in substantive public back-and-forth with the commenters during the session. Commissioner Cordova reported there were no speakers in Las Vegas during this comment period.
The comments were entered into the public record; the Commission did not take immediate action on docket 2405041 at this meeting. Several commenters said the Commission's final decisions on the IRP are expected later in the year.
