Let's talk about the phrase "fair share." It’s one of those wonderfully slimy, corporate-tested phrases that means the exact opposite of what it says. It’s what a mob boss says before he jacks up your protection money. It’s what your landlord says before he adds a "common area maintenance fee" to your rent.
And it’s what NV Energy is saying to every single person in Nevada with a solar panel on their roof right before they reach into their pockets.
The utility giant, in its infinite wisdom, is rolling out a "daily demand charge" in April. On the surface, it sounds technical and boring, which is exactly the point. They want you to tune out. Don't. Here's the translation from PR-speak to English: NV Energy is going to find the 15-minute window each day where you used the most electricity—maybe when you dared to run the air conditioner and the microwave at the same time—and they're going to fine you for it.
This isn't an energy bill. It's a punishment for inconvenience. It’s a penalty for having the audacity to live your life in a way that doesn’t perfectly align with their profit model.
The Shell Game on Your Roof
Imagine the scene at one of these Public Utilities Commission "consumer sessions." Fluorescent lights buzzing overhead in some sterile government room. A handful of execs in stiff suits looking at their phones. And then a guy like James McDonald, a homeowner from Henderson, gets up to speak. I can just picture him, holding a printout of his calculations, trying to explain to a panel of bureaucrats how his smart, forward-thinking investment in solar energy just got turned into a financial boat anchor.
McDonald did the math. This new charge will jack up his bill by about $12 a month. Doesn't sound like much, right? Except that's a 62% increase. Suddenly, the 8 or 9 years he expected it would take for his solar panels to pay for themselves has doubled to 15 years.
This is a subtle poison pill. NV Energy isn’t banning solar; they’re just making it a financially idiotic decision for the average person. Why would you spend thousands on a system if the utility can just invent a new fee out of thin air to claw back all your savings? It’s like buying a fuel-efficient car only to have the gas station charge you a "low-volume penalty" every time you fill up.
The most cynical part of this whole scheme is that the "peak" can happen at any time. You could trigger your highest usage at 2 AM when the rest of the grid is practically asleep. It has nothing to do with managing strain on the system and everything to do with finding a new way to bill you. It’s a solution in search of a problem, and the problem they found is "customers aren't paying us enough."
A Masterclass in Corporate Hypocrisy
This is where the whole thing goes from a bad joke to a full-blown scam. NV Energy’s media relations manager, Meghin Delaney, actually said, with a straight face I assume, that this is about solar users not paying their "fair share."
Let's deconstruct that, shall we?
A solar customer in Nevada sells their excess power back to NV Energy for about 8 cents per kilowatt-hour. NV Energy then turns around and sells that exact same power to that person's neighbor for 14 cents per kilowatt-hour. They are a middleman, profiting directly from the very energy these "freeloaders" are generating. They’re buying wholesale from you and selling retail to the house next door, and then calling you the one who isn't being fair. The audacity is breathtaking.
This is just a bad policy. No, "bad" doesn't cover it—this is a calculated assassination of the rooftop solar industry in Nevada. Michael Cook, another solar user, nailed it in a LETTER: NV Energy’s attack on solar power when he said they’re being "punished for helping the state meet its energy goals." Nevada politicians love to get in front of cameras and talk about green energy and a sustainable future, but when their utility donors feel threatened, they suddenly go quiet. Funny how that works.
What's the real goal here? Is it truly about grid stability, or is it about a monopoly crushing a decentralized competitor it can't control? If 10% of your customers are generating their own power, that’s a 10% threat to your bottom line. This ain't about kilowatts; it's about control. They want you dependent. They want you on the meter.
And are we supposed to trust these guys? This is the same NV Energy that’s currently in the process of reimbursing over 60,000 customers it overcharged. It's not a one-off mistake; it’s a business model. Offcourse, they'll call it a clerical error. It always is.
Then again, maybe I'm just a cynic. Maybe this really is about the complex, nuanced engineering challenges of a modern electrical grid and I'm just too simple to understand the brilliance of their plan. ...Nah. It's a shakedown.
It's A Protection Racket
Let's stop pretending this is complicated. This isn't about grid management or fairness. It's about a monopoly strangling competition in the crib. NV Energy sees a future where people have more control over their own power, and it terrifies them. So they're making an example out of the 10% of customers who dared to innovate. The message is crystal clear: Don't you dare try to be independent. We own the grid. We own the politicians. And if you think about it, we own the sun, too.
