July 14, 2016 | By April Nowicki

Nevada's net metering controversy was compounded this week when local data company Switch filed a lawsuit related to its company pledge to purchase 100 percent renewable energy.

Last Tuesday, the state approved a measure to appear on the November ballot that would undo the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada's (PUCN) decision to implement new charges for net metering, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The same day, Las Vegas data company Switch filed a lawsuit claiming that the PUCN failed to treat the company equally when it denied the firm's application last year to leave NV Energy and purchase renewable energy independently, according to the Las Vegas Sun.

Net metering challenges

Nevada's new rate structure went into effect in January, tripling the fixed charges that solar customers will pay until 2020 and reducing the amount of money that local utility NV Energy pays to consumers for excess energy generated by residential solar panels. A petition to overturn the rate structure received substantial support from local residents, and a net metering referendum was approved by the Secretary of State to appear on the November ballot.

The measure will be reviewed by the Nevada Supreme Court to determine if the proposal qualifies as a referendum, the Review-Journal reported.

Last year, NV Energy exceeded its renewable energy requirements, according to the 2015 Renewable Portfolio Standard Annual Report with the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada. The filing showed that the utility achieved a 21.2 percent renewable credit level in southern Nevada and 31.3 percent level in northern Nevada, exceeding the 2015 requirement of 20 percent, based on total energy sales.

Complying with the legislated mandate is important, but NV Energy's longstanding motivation has been to be environmentally responsible and to keep the costs to customers as low as possible, according to the company's Vice President of Energy Supply Kevin Geraghty.

"In the past five years, we've more than doubled our renewable energy capacity. And, unlike some other states, we've managed to do that with rates that are lower today than they were five years ago," Geraghty said.

Lawsuit against NV Energy

In 2014, Switch tried to leave NV Energy in an effort to purchase power from 100 percent renewable energy sources. The PUCN denied the request last year. On Tuesday, Switch filed a lawsuit indicating that employees of the PUCN and of NV Energy influenced the denial, requesting damages of $30 million, according to the Las Vegas Sun.

For more:
- see this Las Vegas Review-Journal article
- see this Las Vegas Sun article