History
NV Energy is the product of the 1998 merger of the two major utilities in Nevada—northern Nevada's Sierra Pacific Power based in Reno and Las Vegas' Nevada Power.
Sierra Pacific Power was founded in 1928 from a merger of several companies dating back to the gold rush of the 1850s. In 1984, it reorganized as a holding company, Sierra Pacific Resources. Nevada Power was formed in 1906 as the Consolidated Power and Telephone Company of Nevada. It sold off its telephone operations in 1929 and became Southern Nevada Power, changing its name to Nevada Power in 1961. A year later, it became the first Nevada-based company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
In 1999, Sierra Pacific and Nevada Power merged.[14] Sierra Pacific Resources was the nominal survivor, with Nevada Power joining Sierra Pacific Power as one of its operating companies. However, headquarters moved from Reno to Nevada Power's old campus in Las Vegas. The merger created a company with a service territory stretching over 44, 400 square miles—nearly all of Nevada's densely populated area.
On September 22, 2008, Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power began doing business as NV Energy. This is the result of the corporate decision to unify its image under a single brand. Later, Sierra Pacific Resources changed its corporate name to NV Energy, Inc.[15]
In 2009, NV Energy sold its California operations to a partnership of Algonquin Power & Utilities and Emera.[16] Algonquin later bought out Emera.[17] In February 2010, NV Energy entered a 20-year agreement with Pattern Energy to be the sole purchaser of power generated by Pattern's Spring Valley Wind Farm, which opened in August 2012.[18][19] The wind farm generates power for NV Energy customers in northern Nevada and the Las Vegas Valley.[20]
In July 2018, NV Energy launched an electric vehicle infrastructure program. The Nevada Public Utilities Commission authorized the company to invest $15 million to incentivize the development of publicly available charging stations. The program was authorized by the state legislature (Senate Bill 145) and "integrated with a broad, years-old $295 million legislative mandate that includes solar incentives and other renewables. "[21]
