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Aug. 10, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Power for the people, in new plants

Nevada Power, in race to serve growing customer base, begins work on new project

By JOHN G. EDWARDS
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Work continues Tuesday on the Clark Generating Station Peaking Units, a 600-megawatt natural-gas-fired power plant Nevada Power Co. is building at 5640 Stephanie St.
Photo by John Gurzinski.

Nevada Power Co. broke ground Thursday on a $400 million, natural gas-fired power plant in southeast Las Vegas as it races to keep up with population growth in Southern Nevada.

The number of customers served by the utility grew by 3.2 percent over the past six months to 815,000. That's a fast pace for an electric utility but slower than the 5.1 percent growth in the prior year before the local home sales boom screeched to a halt.

"We really haven't been able to enjoy any big slowdown (in growth)," Nevada Power President Donald "Pat" Shalmy told about 50 community leaders attending the groundbreaking.

Nevada Power has invested $1 billion in new power plants the past few years, not counting the $400 million committed to building the Clark Generating Station Peaking Units, said Roberto Denis, senior vice president of Nevada Power parent Sierra Pacific Resources.

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    • The 600-megawatt Clark Generating Station addition replaces demolished gas-fired units that had 175 megawatts of generating capacity at the power plant near the southeast corner of Russell Road and U.S. Highway 95. The new plants will emit less than one-third of the amount of air pollution that the old units did, Denis said.

    The electric company needs to continue building new power plants to keep up with growth and avoid having to rely on wholesale power markets, Denis said. Nevada Power executives and state regulators still smart from the turmoil during the Western energy crisis of 2000-01, when wholesale power prices soared and caused retail rates to jump.

    Hiding from the blazing sun under a broad-rimmed straw hat, Jo Ann Kelly, chairwoman of the Public Utilities Commission, said she fears growth in the Southwest will catch up with power supplies, driving prices higher again.

    Kelly recalled that she believed that relying on the wholesale market for power supplies was the right choice a couple of decades ago. Then, wholesale power was a cheap alternative to raising rates to build new utility-owned power plants, she said.

    She said she worries that Southwest wholesale prices will jump again because power production capacity is rising more slowly than demand for power.

    The new power plant units will be used when demand for power peaks. Nevada Power intends to start commercial operation of 200 megawatts of the 600-megawatt project before next summer.



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    janet lowrie wrote on August 23, 2007 08:20 AM: why can't there be a class action against nevada power and the puc for their innept mismanagement that has led to this massive rate increase without any thought to the poor people who have to pay it.i hear the shareholders are happy with the profit


    LVS wrote on August 10, 2007 10:10 PM: Nevvada Power has gotten a increase everytime they have asked for it . There is something wrong with a system that just grants increased rates every time a public for profit company ask for a increase. This is obvious ursry to the consumer, and it needs change.
    Nevada Power is again a corporation that is supposed to turn a profit for their investors and that is the stated goal for any corporation that seeks investors to make money. To have not adressed these issues that are o unfair to the consumer levesno doubt in my mind that there is some back room politics involved.


    MonoRail-Failure wrote on August 10, 2007 07:55 PM: Nevada Power and The P.U.C. are all full of garbage.

    Donald Pat Shalmy has been involved in so many losers, I am not sure he knows how to run a company. The MonoRail has been a sham since its start and Pat Shalmy is one of the big wigs there as well , I believe the treasure.


    RetiredNavy wrote on August 10, 2007 07:42 PM: Pat Shalmy has done nothing but steel from Southern Nevada residents in my opinion , for the entire time he has been at Nevada Power. Have you ever gone to a power commision hearing? You arent missing anything unless you enjoy blatant coruption on a large scale!
    I moved to Nevada about 15 years ago becuase things like power were affordable. I am leaving now becuase , not only are utilities more expensive than other places, but Pat Shalmy and the people at
    Nevada Power and the commisions that are supposed to help the people are corupt as the day is long.
    I have written 60 minutes, 48 hours, about every new agency that exist, and I hope you will do the same that this may be exposed.


    Shalmy wrote on August 10, 2007 07:27 PM: Nevada Power has taken vey chance to scam its customers every since Shalmy has been there. Why do you think he is no longer with the Chamber of Commerce, the casinos would not put up with it,,,,Get Rid of Shalmy and apoint new Commisioners as they are all inbed.
    Do you remember his excuse for Nevada power paying double price for power that was available in the 2001 scandal , " we thought it was the best WAY TO GO."

    WHAT A JACKAL-


    RANDY wrote on August 10, 2007 10:22 AM: TELL ANN KELLY THAT IF OUR FEARLESS LEADERS WOULD ISSUE BUILDING PERMITS WITH SOME LOGIC INSTEAD OF DOLLAR SIGNS TO LINE THEIR POCKETS, WE WOULDN'T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT OUT-PACING NV POWER'S ABILITY TO PRODUCE POWER.IF THE POWER PRODUCTION IS AT IT'S MAX OUTPUT, THEN WHY WOULD YOU ISSUE MORE PERMITS? WHY SHOULD RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE LIVED HERE FOR 10,20,OR 30 YEARS HAVE TO PAY FOR THE JOHNNY-COME-LATELY? WHY DUE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS HAVE TO PAY FOR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS? THEY GET A BETTER POWER RATE. THE COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS CAN PASS IT (THE POWER BILL) ON AS A COST OF DUEING BUSINESS. RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS CAN'T.