Media Contact: Karl Walquist (775) 834-3891

Due to rising prices for fuel and purchased power, electricity and natural gas rates for NV Energy's northern Nevada customers are going up, effective today. The increases were approved today by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN).

Northern Nevada electric customers will see an overall 3.78 percent increase in rates, or $3.06 per month for a typical residential customer using 740 kilowatt hours of electricity, from $92.35 to $95.41. An overall 2.43 percent rate increase was approved for NV Energy's Reno-Sparks natural gas customers. The bill for a typical gas customer using 56 therms of gas will increase from $69.68 to $71.29, or $1.61 per month.

Both the electric and natural gas rate increases are based on the prices that NV Energy pays suppliers for fuel and purchased power, including power produced by renewable resources. Rates must be adjusted quarterly to reflect increases and decreases in fuel and purchased power costs. These costs are passed through to customers on a dollar-for-dollar basis with no profit to the company. The rate increases are based on fuel and purchased power costs actually incurred by the utility combined with projected energy costs.

Today's rate increases follow rate decreases of 2.52 percent for electric customers and 2.78 percent for natural gas customers that took effect on July 1, 2008. Those decreases were also related to fuel and purchased power costs.

"Because natural gas prices are likely to remain volatile we recommend that our customers prepare now for colder weather by winterizing their homes,"said Mary Simmons, vice president of external affairs for NV Energy."Energy efficiency improvements will help hold down electricity and gas costs this winter." 

A new line item will also appear in customer's November electric bills called the"Renewable Energy Program Rate."  Approved today by the PUCN, this is a charge associated with costs for wind, hydroelectric and solar rebate programs for consumers, which were formerly recovered through the company's fuel and purchased power rate cases. For the typical residential customer using 740 kilowatt hours of electricity per month, the charge will be approximately $1.63.

**On September 22, 2008 Sierra Pacific Power Company and its sister utility serving customers in southern Nevada, Nevada Power Company, changed their individual names to NV Energy in a move toward one energy company serving Nevada.