EDITORIAL: Higher prices? Ha — the wind and sun are ‘free’

Despite a June respite, the summer heat will soon be upon us. Yet many NV Energy customers are already seeing elevated power bills after experiencing sticker shock during the cooler months upon opening their Southwest Gas statements. It might be instructive to flash back to 2018, when Nevada voters were first asked to approve Question 6, a constitutional amendment requiring that 50 percent of the state’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2030.

One of the “Arguments For Passage” claimed that the proposal would “save Nevadans money” by lowering energy costs. A rebuttal to those who opposed the mandate continued the alluring theme, noting that states such as Colorado and Oregon had imposed similar requirements and are “providing electricity at much cheaper prices than anyone had imagined just a few years ago. … After all, the wind and sun are free.”

These suppositions were put forward by a committee formed under statute to convince voters that the referendum deserved support. The three-member panel “does not believe the measure will have any negative fiscal impact” they assured those who examined the fine print.

Opponents of the measure had other thoughts. The “Arguments Against Passage” noted that enshrining the 50 percent requirement into the state constitution would handcuff lawmakers and utility providers. On costs, they predicted the mandate would put “ratepayers at risk” and drive up prices. They quoted former Gov. Brian Sandoval, who had vetoed similar legislation a few years earlier: “If these aggressive new energy policies are enacted, it is the ratepayer who bears the risk of increased rates.”

Finally, they noted that, “If renewable energy was already at a stage of superiority capable of competing on price, it wouldn’t demand a constitutional mandate.”

Nevada voters overwhelmingly approved Question 6 by a 59-41 percentage margin in 2018. Two years later, they sanctioned the ballot measure again, 58-42. It is now enshrined in the state constitution.

It’s also become crystal clear five years later which side was selling the electorate a bill of goods. Green energy requirements aren’t the only factor driving up costs, of course, but they have contributed to the higher rates that many Nevadans now suffer. It’s also becoming increasingly difficult to deny that the rush to renewables — which includes an all-out attack by green activists and the Biden administration on U.S. energy producers — has contributed to higher bills and threatened the reliability of power delivery in many parts of the nation.

It’s true that technological breakthroughs will likely solve some of the problems that hinder renewable energy production. Yet that’s small solace to those struggling to pay today’s summer electric bills so they can keep the lights on.