NRS704B.320. Conditions and limitations for certain proposed transactions; requirements for certain eligible customers; limited disclosure of certain information; duties of Commission; compliance with portfolio standard.

      1.  For eligible customers whose loads are in the service territory of an electric utility that primarily serves densely populated counties, the aggregate amount of energy that all such eligible customers purchase from providers of new electric resources before July 1, 2003, must not exceed 50 percent of the difference between the existing supply of energy generated in this State that is available to the electric utility and the existing demand for energy in this State that is consumed by the customers of the electric utility, as determined by the Commission.

      2.  An eligible customer that is a nongovernmental commercial or industrial end-use customer whose load is in the service territory of an electric utility that primarily serves densely populated counties shall not purchase energy, capacity or ancillary services from a provider of new electric resources unless, as part of the proposed transaction, the eligible customer agrees to:

      (a) Contract with the provider to purchase:

             (1) An additional amount of energy which is equal to 10 percent of the total amount of energy that the eligible customer is purchasing for its own use under the proposed transaction and which is purchased at the same price, terms and conditions as the energy purchased by the eligible customer for its own use; and

             (2) The capacity and ancillary services associated with the additional amount of energy at the same price, terms and conditions as the capacity and ancillary services purchased by the eligible customer for its own use; and

      (b) Offers to assign the rights to the contract to the electric utility for use by the remaining customers of the electric utility.

      3.  If an eligible customer is subject to the provisions of subsection 2, the eligible customer shall include with its application filed pursuant to NRS 704B.310 all information concerning the contract offered to the electric utility that is necessary for the Commission to determine whether it is in the best interest of the remaining customers of the electric utility for the electric utility to accept the rights to the contract. Such information must include, without limitation, the amount of the energy and capacity to be purchased under the contract, the price of the energy, capacity and ancillary services and the duration of the contract.

      4.  Notwithstanding any specific statute to the contrary, information concerning the price of the energy, capacity and ancillary services and any other terms or conditions of the contract that the Commission determines are commercially sensitive:

      (a) Must not be disclosed by the Commission except to the Regulatory Operations Staff of the Commission, the Consumer’s Advocate, the staff of the Consumer’s Advocate and the electric utility for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this section; and

      (b) Except as otherwise provided in NRS 239.0115, shall be deemed to be confidential for all other purposes, and the Commission shall take such actions as are necessary to protect the confidentiality of such information.

      5.  If the Commission determines that the contract:

      (a) Is not in the best interest of the remaining customers of the electric utility, the electric utility shall not accept the rights to the contract, and the eligible customer is entitled to all rights to the contract.

      (b) Is in the best interest of the remaining customers of the electric utility, the electric utility shall accept the rights to the contract and the eligible customer shall assign all rights to the contract to the electric utility. A contract that is assigned to the electric utility pursuant to this paragraph shall be deemed to be an approved part of the resource plan of the electric utility and a prudent investment, and the electric utility may recover all costs for the energy, capacity and ancillary services acquired pursuant to the contract. To the extent practicable, the Commission shall take actions to ensure that the electric utility uses the energy, capacity and ancillary services acquired pursuant to each such contract only for the benefit of the remaining customers of the electric utility that are not eligible customers, with a preference for the remaining customers of the electric utility that are residential customers with small loads.

      6.  The provisions of this section do not exempt the electric utility, in whole or in part, from the requirements imposed on the electric utility pursuant to NRS 704.7801 to 704.7828, inclusive, to comply with its portfolio standard. The Commission shall not take any actions pursuant to this section that conflict with or diminish those requirements.

      (Added to NRS by 2001, 3228; A 2003, 1263, 1877; 2005, 22nd Special Session, 86; 2007, 2161; 2009, 1001)