Sierra Club’s Utility Report Card Shows NV Energy’s Sierra Pacific Power Company Receives Lowest Grade Yet

Nevada's main power provider, NV Energy, got its worst grade yet in a new environmental scorecard that tracks how utilities are handling the shift away from coal and gas toward renewable energy. The report from Sierra Club looked at NV Energy's two divisions, which together serve nearly all residential customers in the state. Sierra Pacific Power Company, which covers northern Nevada, dropped to a D grade after years of positive marks.

The reason is a surge in AI data centers moving into northern Nevada. To power them, Sierra Pacific now plans to build over 2.7 gigawatts of new gas-fired power plants by 2035, four times what it planned just a year ago. Data centers currently make up 5 percent of NV Energy's electricity sales, but that's projected to grow to 64 percent by 2046. NV Energy says it has a plan to make data centers cover their own costs so regular households aren't stuck subsidizing them, but consumer advocates testified that plan still has major gaps.

This matters for your bills because Nevada voters in 2020 set a rule requiring the state's utilities to get 50 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2030. NV Energy now says it expects to miss that target. Separately, Nevada Power, which serves southern Nevada, recently had to refund customers $65 million after overcharging them for two decades. If you're in Nevada and watching your utility bill, this gas buildout and the renewable shortfall are worth keeping an eye on as the state's regulators consider NV Energy's plans.