Publish Date: July 23, 2024

Resource planning is becoming more complex for Nevada utilities. Growing electricity demand is putting pressure on Nevada’s grid. New variable renewable energy is changing how the grid operates. Increasingly frequent extreme weather threatens the safety and performance of electric infrastructure. Nevada needs low-cost, flexible solutions to help manage the grid and maintain reliability in the face of these pressures.

With an increase in residential and commercial growth in Nevada, and rising temperatures in the summer, energy consumers in Nevada are facing high utility bills. Distributed Energy Resources (“DERs”) and Virtual Power Plants (“VPPs”) provide a solution for customers to manage their own energy while providing a flexible option for the utility to reduce the demand on the electric grid. Further, utilities can pay energy consumers who are registered with a VPP program to help reduce their bills as they help the utility reduce the demand on the grid.  

This report discusses programs proposed by NV Energy in both its 2021 and 2024 Integrated Resource Plans, details where the utility could expand its programs to better leverage DERs for low-cost capacity, and provides best practices for the utility to use in developing VPPs. Regulators, legislators, stakeholders, and utilities can use this paper to better understand and develop the opportunities for DERs and VPPs in Nevada.

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