Soprio · Nevada Energy · Sources & Methods
How we know what the story says
← Back to the story · record k2 · as of 2026-09-07 · evidence review: 2026-09-07; PUCN order of Aug 7 2026 read in full (OCR)
Every material figure in the story links here. Each entry gives the exact claim as worded in the story, the source and locator, what we actually inspected, and what would change it. Provisional means the figure is carried from our earlier reporting and has not yet been re-checked against the primary document; contested means our own sources disagree; unknown means we have not found the evidence either way. Missing evidence is not evidence of absence. Corrections: /contact/.
Method
The story's graphic encodes capacity as unit squares (one square = 100 MW). Scale figures come from filings; the proportion of a signed load's cost that the customer pays directly versus what enters the rate base is drawn as an illustration until a sourced cost share exists, and is labelled so on the page. Bar heights in the bill schematic are not to scale. Inference is separated from quotation below.
Claims by beat
- c01 · Data centers have asked NV Energy about roughly 22,000 MW of new demand; NV Energy's phras… checked
- c02 · Nevada's peak demand in 2025 was about 8,200 MW.… checked
- c04 · About 6,000 MW of data-center load has signed Rule 9 agreements. Those agreements fund tra… checked
- c05 · NV Energy's authorized return on equity is about 9.65%.… provisional
- c06 · Fuel and purchased-power costs pass to customers at cost through the DEAA. In 2022 gas cos… checked
- c07 · Greenlink North and West together are estimated at about $4.2 billion.… checked
- c08 · NV Energy told a Nevada legislative interim committee in 2026 that large energy users 'nee… checked
- c09 · On May 21 2026 Microsoft filed a proposed 'ratepayer protection tariff' as comments in PUC… checked
- c11 · In 2018 Nevada voters rejected Question 3 (retail electric choice) 67–33; about $63 millio… checked
- c12 · NV Energy has proposed a Large Load Electric Service Agreement (LLESA) framework in Docket… checked (proposal and phase structure); provisional (Sept 18 date)
- c13 · By default, generation built or bought to serve new load enters the rate base, where all c… provisional
- c14 · Since about February 2026, Nevada Power customers pay roughly $8.20 a month toward Greenli… provisional
- c15 · On August 7 2026 the presiding officer declined to have the Commission hold a consumer ses… checked
- c16 · Hearings on the plan begin September 22 2026; the Commission's final decision is expected … provisional
c01 · sourcechecked
Data centers have asked NV Energy about roughly 22,000 MW of new demand; NV Energy's phrase is 'interest inquiries'.
- Support
- s01 and s02: 'NV Energy has received approximately 22,000 megawatts (MW) or 22 gigawatts (GW) of interest inquiries from data centers.'
- Gaps
- None. Inquiries are not signed load; the story says so.
- In the story
- beat 02
c02 · derived calculationchecked
Nevada's peak demand in 2025 was about 8,200 MW.
- Support
- s01, s03: Nevada Power 2025 peak 6,168 MW + Sierra Pacific 2025 peak 2,073 MW = 8,241 MW (non-coincident sum of the two utilities' peaks, rounded to 8,200 in the story). 82 squares at 100 MW each.
- Gaps
- The dashboard and plain-English guide on this site say ~8,500 MW. That figure is a misreading of a different IRP sentence (Sierra study-phase capacity requests of 8,500 MW by 2037), not a system peak. Those pages need correcting. Also: the sum of two utilities' peaks is not a statewide coincident peak and excludes non-NV Energy utilities; the story's 'Nevada draws' is shorthand for NV Energy's service territory.
- In the story
- beat 01, beat 07
c03 · sourceprovisional
Data centers were 5% of NV Energy sales in 2025 and are projected at 64% by 2046 (IRP). EPRI-attributed 8.69% of Nevada electricity in 2023 (via Quartz); the '20% by 2030' figure for Nevada traces only to a Sierra Nevada Ally paraphrase, not an EPRI document.
- Support
- s01 (5% → 64%). Quartz slide 8 for 8.69%.
- Gaps
- Not used in this story. On the dashboard, the 20%-by-2030 line should be re-attributed or dropped; do not conflate with EPRI's national 9–17% figure.
- In the story
- not used in the story
c04 · sourcechecked
About 6,000 MW of data-center load has signed Rule 9 agreements. Those agreements fund transmission, substation and high-voltage distribution to interconnect the load, and 'do not address generation and electric supply.'
- Support
- s02 p. 4: 'has executed approximately 6 GW of signed Rule 9 agreements … to facilitate the transmission, substation, and high voltage distribution infrastructure needed to interconnect these large loads. These agreements do not address generation and electric supply.' s12: CIAC and NAC 704.6532 gross-up.
- Gaps
- About 84% (almost 5 GW) of the signed agreements are in northern Nevada (Sierra). The gold/terracotta split in the graphic shows the two categories; it is not a measured cost share.
- In the story
- beat 02, beat 04
c05 · sourceprovisional
NV Energy's authorized return on equity is about 9.65%.
- Support
- s07: Nevada Power 9.65% (Docket 25-02016, order Sept 2025, affirmed on reconsideration Nov 18 2025); Sierra Pacific electric 9.65% (Docket 24-02026, Sept 2024); Sierra gas 9.5%.
- Gaps
- Secondary-sourced; the PUCN order PDFs were not opened. The prior authorized figure was 9.5% (Docket 23-06007), which is what the dashboard still says.
- In the story
- beat 03
c06 · sourcechecked
Fuel and purchased-power costs pass to customers at cost through the DEAA. In 2022 gas costs rose about 70% and added roughly $15 a month to an average bill; the filing effective Oct 1 2026 lowers Southern Nevada residential bills about 3.6%.
- Support
- s08 (2022: ~70%, ~$15/month for an average Northern Nevada household); s09 (Aug 19 2026 filing: $100.2M, 3.63%, $5.01/month Southern; 1.82% Northern).
- Gaps
- The $15/month is a Northern Nevada household estimate. The docket number for the Aug 2026 filing was not confirmed (the dashboard's '26-02035' may belong to a March 2026 filing); the story does not cite it. Bar heights are schematic.
- In the story
- beat 05
c07 · sourcechecked
Greenlink North and West together are estimated at about $4.2 billion.
- Support
- s11 ($4.2–4.24B, up from ~$2.5B in 2018).
- Gaps
- A later rate-case summary cites 'more than $3.2B'; figures move across reporting periods. $4.2B is the higher, more recent public figure.
- In the story
- beat 05
c08 · sourcechecked
NV Energy told a Nevada legislative interim committee in 2026 that large energy users 'need to be responsible for paying their own way to avoid creating upward pressure on rates.'
- Support
- s04 p. 44, verbatim. NV Energy's Data Centers Fact Sheet carries a published paraphrase.
- Gaps
- The dashboard and guide attribute a 'must be responsible for paying their own way' sentence to the IRP itself; the verbatim sentence is testimony, not IRP text. Corrected in this story.
- In the story
- beat 06
c09 · sourcechecked
On May 21 2026 Microsoft filed a proposed 'ratepayer protection tariff' as comments in PUCN Docket 20-08014, under which a large-load customer would fund customer-specific generation, transmission and substation costs and face an exit charge.
- Support
- s05; docket cross-confirmed in s04.
- Gaps
- It is a stakeholder proposal inside a long-running investigation, not an adopted tariff. Comment period reportedly runs into October 2026.
- In the story
- beat 06
c11 · sourcechecked
In 2018 Nevada voters rejected Question 3 (retail electric choice) 67–33; about $63 million was spent against it, almost all from NV Energy / Berkshire Hathaway Energy.
- Support
- s10.
- Gaps
- None material.
- In the story
- beat 05
c12 · sourcechecked (proposal and phase structure); provisional (Sept 18 date)
NV Energy has proposed a Large Load Electric Service Agreement (LLESA) framework in Docket 26-05007 under which new large loads would fund, through contributions in aid of construction, the generation and transmission additions needed to serve them, and asked for expedited approval of the framework by September 18 2026. The individual LLESA requests are addressed in Phase II of the docket. Not yet ruled on as of Sept 7 2026.
- Support
- s01 (LLESA description and CIAC language); s13 ¶ 25 (application 'seeks expedited approval of a Large Load Electric Service Agreement framework'; 'Phase II of the proceeding will address the LLESA requests'); s16 (Sept 18 as the requested ruling date, secondary).
- Gaps
- The Aug 7 2026 order has now been read in full: it rules only on the BCP's consumer-session motion and does not act on the LLESA. Procedural Order No. 1 (June 18 2026), which holds the phase schedule, was not obtained; the Sept 18 date rests on NV Energy's request as reported, not on an inspected schedule. The application was amended June 4 and June 22, which can move statutory deadlines. The individual LLESA docket numbers (26-05026 to 26-05030) come from a secondary summary (servercountry.org) and were not checked against the PUCN docket index.
- In the story
- beat 07
c13 · interpretationprovisional
By default, generation built or bought to serve new load enters the rate base, where all customers pay for it and the utility earns its authorized return.
- Support
- c04 (Rule 9 excludes generation and supply) + c05 (return on rate base) + c14 (Greenlink already recovered from all customers). NV Energy's own framing of the LLESA as the mechanism to 'ensure that households, small businesses, and existing commercial and industrial customers are not asked to bear costs driven primarily by new large-load service' implies that assurance did not exist before it.
- Gaps
- Inference from ordinary cost-of-service ratemaking, stated as 'by default' in the story.
- In the story
- beat 04, beat 07
c14 · sourceprovisional
Since about February 2026, Nevada Power customers pay roughly $8.20 a month toward Greenlink while it is still under construction; the PUCN allowed 50% of construction cost to be recovered through rates during construction.
- Support
- s06 (summary of the PUCN order of Sept 16 2025 in Docket 25-02016).
- Gaps
- Secondary; the order PDF was not text-extractable. The exact month the charge appeared on bills should be checked against a bill or the order.
- In the story
- beat 05
c15 · sourcechecked
On August 7 2026 the presiding officer declined to have the Commission hold a consumer session in Docket 26-05007, finding that consumer comments 'are not evidence' in a contested proceeding, and authorized the Bureau of Consumer Protection to hold its own; the BCP is running an online survey instead.
- Support
- s13 ¶¶ 34–35, ordering ¶¶ 1–3; s14; s15.
- Gaps
- Written public comments can still be filed in the docket (AG's office, via s15); they are not evidence either. No survey deadline is stated.
- In the story
- beat 07
c16 · sourceprovisional
Hearings on the plan begin September 22 2026; the Commission's final decision is expected by December 31 2026.
- Support
- s15 (AG's office: final decision by Dec. 31); s16 (Sept 22 hearing).
- Gaps
- Sept 22 is from a news outlet's social post; Procedural Order No. 1 not inspected.
- In the story
- beat 07
Source index
s04 · Nevada Legislature, Joint Interim Committee hearing transcript, Document 34280 · Nevada Legislature (REL) · 2026
https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/InterimCommittee/REL/Document/34280locator p. 44 (document pagination): NV Energy testimony, 'need to be responsible for paying their own way'; also names Docket 20-08014 ·
inspected full text (R2/R1)
checked
s13 · PUCN, Docket 26-05007, Order on Motion for Post-Filing Consumer Session (Chair Hayley Williamson, presiding officer), 9 pp. · Public Utilities Commission of Nevada · 2026-08-07
https://nevadacurrent.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Order-re-Consumer-Session-8.7.2026.pdflocator ¶¶ 5, 15 (amendments June 4 and June 22); ¶ 14 (Procedural Order No. 1, June 18); ¶ 25 (LLESA framework sought on an expedited basis; Phase II addresses the LLESA requests); ¶¶ 34–35 and ordering ¶¶ 1–3 (consumer comments 'are not evidence'; Commission-conducted session denied; BCP-sponsored session authorized) ·
inspected full text: PDF downloaded (copy hosted by Nevada Current, title metadata 'DOCKETS - 26-05007 - ORDER - 8/7/2026') and OCR'd locally; text in _dev/evidence/
checked
s15 · Office of the Nevada Attorney General: Consumer Survey in Lieu of Consumer Session for NV Energy IRP (2027-2029) · Nevada AG / Bureau of Consumer Protection · 2026-09
https://ag.nv.gov/locator home page notice with English (forms.cloud.microsoft/g/463BHBnQkJ) and Spanish (forms.cloud.microsoft/g/U5u3uV27Bb) survey links; This Is Reno, Sept 7 2026: 'The PUCN is expected to issue a final decision in the docket by Dec. 31.' ·
inspected full (AG site notice and This Is Reno article)
checked
s16 · This Is Reno (Facebook post) and willmybillgoup.com: hearing Sept 22 2026; ruling on the contract framework by Sept 18 · This Is Reno; willmybillgoup.com · 2026-08-29 / 2026-09-01
https://willmybillgoup.com/utility/nv-energy/nv-energy-2026-irp-large-loadlocator page body; social post ·
inspected excerpt (secondary, low authority); Procedural Order No. 1 not obtained
provisional
Media and corrections
All graphics are code-drawn SVG from the figures above; no photographs or generated imagery are used as evidence. Document cards in the story quote or paraphrase filings and are labelled. Story and evidence record share revision k2. Return to the story.