Nevada plans decrease in electricity rates

Nevada residents should soon be seeing lower electric bills, as NV Energy announced its plans to reduce its electricity rates, according to RGJ.com.

The rate decrease will begin in October and should average around 2.43 percent in Northern Nevada.

Residents of Nevada paid an average of 11.83 cents per kilowatt-hour through June of this year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. For residential customers, a 2.43 percent decrease would bring the price down to 11.55 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Commercial and industrial customers paid an average of 9.16 cents and 5.99 cents per kilowatt-hour.

NV Energy estimates that the average residential customer, using 746 kilowatt-hours of electricity, would save around $1.82 per month at the new rate, though the savings would be higher for bigger energy consumers.

The rate decrease stems from a Nevada rule requiring that utilities and electricity providers pass along savings on fuel costs to customers.

The EIA notes that electricity prices have fallen notably since last year, averaging 12.64 cents per kilowatt-hour over the first six months of 2010.