Switch's move to leave NV Energy’s power grid was blocked yesterday.
In a 2 to 1 vote, the Public Utilities Commission prevented Switch from making good on its proposal to generate its own electricity to power its datacenters and business services.
Kyle Roerink is a reporter for the Las Vegas Sun. He has been covering this and other issues connected to energy in the state.
"It all comes down to how the PUC was looking at how much it would cost Switch to leave, and the concerns about the costs that would come to rate payers if such a large customer, like Switch, would leave," Roerink said.
To find out how much it would cost, the PUC instituted an investigatory workshop to look into the costs.
However, one of the commissioners felt the PUC staff answered that question, which is why she voted to allow the company to leave.
According to the PUC staff, if Switch pays a $27 million exit fee, there will not be a cost to rate payers.
Switch is not the only company wanting to leave the grid. MGM Resorts, Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts have all asked to go.
"It sent a clear signal to the casinos that are trying to leave [the grid] that 'We're not going to be doing things the way that they were done in the past,'" Roerink said.
The big question for the casinos and Switch is the cost of infrastructure, especially when 10 percent of its biggest rate payers are asking to leave.
Roerink believes the discussion about which companies will stay on the grid and which will leave is far from over.
Kyle Roerink, Las Vegas Sun
