NV Energy explained: who owns it, how your rate gets set, and what to know

Last checked October 29, 2026

Who owns it

• Berkshire Hathaway. Its utility arm, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, agreed in May 2013 to buy NV Energy for $5.6 billion in cash, $23.75 a share. The deal closed December 19, 2013.
• Two utilities under one name. Nevada Power serves Southern Nevada. Sierra Pacific Power serves Northern Nevada, with electricity and natural gas.
• Size. About 1.45 million electric customers at the end of 2025, about 1.06 million of them in the south, plus about 189,000 gas customers. 2,691 employees.
• Who runs Berkshire now. Greg Abel, who came up through the utility business and chaired Berkshire Hathaway Energy, became Berkshire's CEO on January 1, 2026.

How your rate gets set

There's no competition for your home's power here, so the state regulates the price instead.

1. Rate cases. Nevada law requires NV Energy to file a general rate case at least every three years. The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) has 210 days to hear it and decide.
2. The allowed profit. In each case the PUCN sets a return on equity, the profit rate NV Energy can earn on its investment. In the 2023 Southern Nevada case it was set at 9.5% (NV Energy asked for 10.2%). In 2025, NV Energy asked for 10.25%; we couldn't confirm what the PUCN set.
3. Someone argues for you. The Consumer Advocate in the Attorney General's office represents residential and small business customers in these cases.
4. Fuel passes straight through. Fuel and bought power are adjusted every quarter. NV Energy says those costs pass through dollar for dollar with no profit, and a yearly case checks whether they were reasonable. That's why your rate moves a little every few months.

The most recent big case: in 2025 NV Energy asked for $224 million more a year in Southern Nevada, and the PUCN approved $118 million. Starting October 1, 2026, a quarterly fuel adjustment lowers a typical residential bill about 3.6%, roughly $5 a month, according to NV Energy's notice.

How to weigh in

The PUCN holds consumer sessions on big cases, in person and on Zoom, and takes written comments on its site by docket number. Comments aren't evidence on their own, since the PUCN decides on sworn testimony, but they can shape what the Consumer Advocate and other parties argue. Hearings stream live on the PUCN site.

The money

From Nevada Power's federal FERC Form 1 filing. NV Energy as a whole also paid about $297 million in taxes in 2025.

What's coming

• Greenlink. Two big transmission lines: Greenlink West, about 350 miles from Las Vegas to Yerington, and Greenlink North, about 235 miles from Ely to Yerington. The cost estimate went from about $2.5 billion in 2021 to about $4.2 billion now. NV Energy blames inflation, permitting, design and scope changes. Greenlink West is expected after summer 2027. In 2025 the PUCN let NV Energy start charging customers for part of it during construction, with Southern Nevada paying 70%.
• Data centers. They were about 5% of NV Energy's sales in 2025, and the utility projects about 64% by 2046. NV Energy proposes that large new customers pay for the infrastructure they need. Sierra Club and Vote Solar warn costs could still shift to households.
• The 2026 resource plan. NV Energy proposed about 4,370 MW of solar, 5,405 MW of batteries, 1,223 MW of gas turbines and 180 MW of geothermal. NV Energy says the new gas is needed only for data center demand. A PUCN decision is expected by December 31, 2026.
• Coal is basically done. North Valmy, near Battle Mountain, was NV Energy's last coal plant and is converting to gas. A 220 MW battery now sits on the old Reid Gardner coal plant site near Moapa.

The fights worth knowing about

• The 2015 solar fight. Regulators cut what new rooftop solar customers were paid and raised their fixed charges. Several big solar companies stopped working in Nevada. In 2017 the Legislature passed AB 405, restoring credits that step down to 75% of retail, which is today's rate.
• Question 3, "Energy Choice." A ballot measure to end NV Energy's monopoly passed in 2016 with about 72%, then failed in 2018 with about 33%, since constitutional amendments need two votes. NV Energy put about $63 million into opposing it; Las Vegas Sands and Switch were among the biggest backers.
• Casinos that left. MGM and Wynn left NV Energy as retail customers in 2016, paying exit fees of about $87 million and $16 million. Caesars was approved to leave in 2017 with about $44 million in fees in the south.
• The daily demand charge. A charge based on your highest 15-minute use each day, set to start January 1, 2027 for Southern Nevada homes. NV Energy and the PUCN say it fixes a cost shift from solar homes and most bills will drop, at about 49 cents a day with lower per-kWh rates. The Consumer Advocate calls it unlawful. Courts denied challenges from the Attorney General and Vote Solar in 2026, both are appealing, and lawmakers declined to ban it in August 2026.
• Overcharge refunds. More than 100,000 customers, mostly in apartments and other multi-family homes, were billed on the single-family rate for 20+ years. The PUCN approved about $63 to $65 million in refunds in February 2026, and refunds started by July 2026. A 2025 law, AB 452, now requires full refunds with interest for overcharges.

Scams: what NV Energy will never do

• Come to your home to collect payment
• Demand immediate payment or threaten an immediate shutoff by phone, text or email
• Take payment by Zelle, MoneyPak, Venmo, Bitcoin or QR code
• Partner with outside companies to sell you HVAC or solar (it warned about door-to-door impostors in 2025)

Real shutoffs come after a 10-day notice and a 48-hour notice. In September 2021 alone, Nevadans lost more than $60,000 to NV Energy impostors. If a call feels off, hang up and call the number on your bill.

Report it: (702) 402-SCAM (7226) in Southern Nevada, the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, or the Nevada Attorney General's complaint form.

Data breaches

We found no confirmed data breach at NV Energy in credible sources. In 2019 the federal government reported a "cyber event" at an unnamed Western utility, and Berkshire Hathaway Energy said none of its companies were affected. The August 2025 ransomware attack that hit Nevada state government delayed some utility hearings, but it wasn't an attack on NV Energy.

If you're struggling with the bill

• Energy Assistance Program (state): for households up to 150% of the federal poverty level, for example $4,125 a month for a family of four (July 2026 to June 2027). Nevada Division of Social Services, (775) 684-0800.
• NV Energy programs in the south: Project REACH for low-income customers 62 and older (through United Way), FlexPay prepay, and free AC tune-ups and AC replacement discounts for income-qualified customers.
• Equal Pay: spreads your bill into the same amount every month so summer doesn't hit all at once.
• Green Cross: advance notice of planned outages for customers on life-support equipment. It doesn't stop disconnection for nonpayment.
• Heat protection: no disconnections above 105 degrees, or 95 degrees for elderly or disabled customers, and a 30-day delay for a medical emergency. The bill is still owed.
• Disputing a bill: start with NV Energy. If that fails, call the PUCN's consumer division at (702) 486-2600. Informal complaints usually take 3 to 5 business days.

Fun facts

• Nevada Power started in Las Vegas in 1906 as Consolidated Power & Telephone Co., running a gas engine nicknamed "Old Betsy."
• Its predecessor was the first utility to distribute Hoover Dam power, starting in 1937. Nevada's share of Hoover Dam's power is about 23.4%.
• Southern Nevada uses about 2,000 to 2,500 MW on a winter day and more than 6,000 MW on a summer peak, so the grid is built for roughly three times winter demand. The 2025 southern peak was 6,168 MW.
• NV Energy says it has never had to run rolling brownouts in the Las Vegas Valley.
• According to the Nevada Independent, the new daily demand charge is the first mandatory residential demand charge at a US investor-owned utility.

Common questions

Sources

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