1. A utility or two or more utilities under common ownership may, in a plan filed pursuant to NRS 704.741 or an amendment to such a plan, request that the Commission establish a just and reasonable price for the energy produced by a renewable energy facility owned by such utility or utilities by means of reference to a competitive market rate. A request pursuant to this subsection must include a request that the Commission exclude any capital investment associated with the renewable energy facility from the rate base of the utility or utilities and expenses associated with such facility from the revenue requirement of the utility or utilities.
2. If a utility or utilities make a request pursuant to subsection 1, the Commission may grant the request. If the Commission grants the request, any capital investment made by the utility or utilities in such a renewable energy facility must be excluded from the rate base of the utility or utilities and all expenses associated with the facility must be excluded from the revenue requirement of the utility or utilities. The just and reasonable price for the electricity generated by the renewable energy facility must be established by reference to a competitive market price for the electricity, without regard or reference to the principles of cost of service or rate of return price setting. The Commission may determine a competitive market price based on the results of a reasonably contemporaneous competitive request for proposals for a substantially similar product with substantially similar terms and conditions, including duration of the proposal.
3. In an order approving or modifying a plan filed by a utility or utilities pursuant to NRS 704.741 or an amendment to such a plan that includes a provision for the acquisition of a renewable energy facility, the Commission may establish reasonable performance terms and conditions for the generation and sale of the electricity.
4. The Commission shall establish by regulation a mechanism by which a utility that is authorized to charge its customers a just and reasonable price established by the Commission for the electricity generated by a renewable energy facility may account for the electricity generated by the renewable energy facility and charge the just and reasonable price for that electricity to its customers through the mechanism set forth in NRS 704.187. The regulations adopted pursuant to this subsection also must ensure that no costs shall be borne by customers of the utility other than those costs approved by the Commission to be reflected in the mechanism set forth in NRS 704.187 for the term specified in the Commission’s order. At the conclusion of the term, the Commission shall not allow the utility to include the remaining capital investment, if any, associated with such a facility in the utility’s rate base or to include any expenses associated with the facility in the utility’s revenue requirement. The Commission may establish regulations for the utility to make a proposal regarding recovery of a just and reasonable price for energy produced by the facility beyond the initial term approved by the Commission by filing a plan pursuant to NRS 704.741 or an amendment to such a plan. Any such proposal must be reviewed and approved by the Commission before any other costs associated with the facility are charged to customers through the mechanism set forth in NRS 704.187.
5. As part of any order issued by the Commission approving or modifying a plan filed by a utility or utilities pursuant to NRS 704.741 or an amendment to such plan that includes a provision for the acquisition of a renewable energy facility pursuant to subsection 2, the Commission shall make all findings necessary to support the conclusion that the facility is not public utility property as defined in section 168(i) of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. § 168(i).
(Added to NRS by 2019, 10)