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NV Energy to own and operate EV charging stations in Nevada

Nevada regulators directed NV Energy Inc. to bill its electric customers $15 million to own and operate its own EV charging stations and to facilitate more third party-owned electric vehicle chargers.

The regulators overruled the Nevada attorney general's Bureau of Consumer Protection, which contended that the state's dominant utility should not get into the business of EV charging since most of its customers do not own electric vehicles. Private enterprise should provide the service, rather than having ratepayers shoulder the cost and risk, the consumer advocate said.

The Public Utilities Commission explained that its order implements a law passed in 2017 to create an electric vehicle demonstration program with the specific goal of completing the governor's Nevada Electric Highway program by the end of 2020. Also in 2017, Gov. Brian Sandoval signed an agreement with seven other Western states to provide an EV charging network along major highways across the region.

NV Energy, a Berkshire Hathaway Energy subsidiary, will take the lead in providing EV charging stations to remote areas. Direct-current fast chargers will be the primary technology, especially on highways. While NV Energy will own and operate some of these charging stations, the utility said it will likely solicit bids from private companies to install the equipment. NV Energy will also be allowed to own and operate charging stations along side roads, but these will be subject to prudence review in a future rate filing.

NV Energy has been involved with EV charging programs for several years. Along with the Nevada Department of Transportation and the governor's Office of Energy, it joined an EV infrastructure task force in 2011. In recent years the company has arranged to install charging stations at airports, casinos, shopping centers and universities.

Nevertheless, the commissioners decided that without ratepayer funding, EV programs could not be meaningfully implemented. The money will be used to help complete the state's Electric Highway and to provide incentives for EV charging stations at workplaces, multifamily homes and in vehicle fleets, including public buses converted from diesel to electric.

NV Energy will determine eligibility for those who apply for incentives for EVs, charging stations, cables and other components for charging stations and partnerships, according to the PUC's order. To qualify for incentives, EV chargers must be located within NV Energy's service territory and be connected to the utility's grid.