by Dana Gentry, Nevada Current
The Nevada Department of Corrections is asking NV Energy to keep the lights on in the state’s prisons while it comes up with the money to pay the bills.
“We’ve been seeing significant increases, as most consumers have, for their utility costs,” NDOC’s assistant director Kristina Shea told the Current. “I think we’re at about 20 to 25% increases across the board from when we built the budgets two years ago, so basically the budgets are short for the utilities.”
NDOC budgeted about $11.3 million in utility costs for the 2024-2025 biennium, according to the state budget.
The prison department is enjoying the kind of customer service that eludes most Nevadans struggling to pay their utility bills.
“We’re working with our partners at NV Energy to make sure that no late fees are going to be assessed, that they’re going to keep the power on until we figure out our shortfall situation,” says Shea, who intends to seek more money from the Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee in June. “We’re explaining the situation to the people who run NV Energy and they’re being very accommodating to us.”
“NV Energy is always willing to work with customers who may reach out with financial hardship – regardless of the size or type of customer,” the utility’s spokeswoman Meghin Delaney said in a statement. “We have a number of assistance and budgeting programs available to customers and we encourage customers to reach out to NV Energy directly to learn more about their options.”
“It’s a budgetary process that we’re working on with the governor’s finance office,” Shea said.
Gov. Joe Lombardo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“We have to solve our shortfall internally, and then we have to solve the shortfall amongst transfers between our accounts,” Shea said. “So it’s too early to go right now to get the emergency contingency funding. We’re kind of in a holding pattern just to see where we are and then we’re going to get the funding.”
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