Section 704.79877 - Incorporation through amendment of resource plan; purposes; authorized projects; allocation of costs between utilities submitting joint plan and recovery of costs; evaluation of certain impacts from plan implementation1. On or before September 1, 2021, an electric utility shall file an amendment to its most recent resource plan filed pursuant to NRS 704.741 to incorporate into the resource plan a transmission infrastructure for a clean energy economy plan which sets forth a plan for the construction of high-voltage transmission infrastructure that will be placed into service not later than December 31, 2028, to: (a) Assure a reliable and resilient transmission network in this State to serve the existing and currently projected transmission service obligations of the electric utility;(b) Assist the utility in meeting the portfolio standard established by NRS 704.7821 and the goals for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions set forth in NRS 445B.380 and 704.7820;(c) Promote economic development in this State, including, without limitation, by creating jobs, expanding the tax base or providing other economic benefits;(d) Expand transmission access to renewable energy zones designated by the Commission pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 704.741 to promote the development and use of renewable energy resources in this State;(e) Use federally granted rights-of-way within designated renewable energy transmission corridors before the expiration of such rights-of-way; and(f) Support the development of regional transmission interconnections that may be required for: (1) This State to cost-effectively achieve the goals for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions set forth in NRS 445B.380 and 704.7820; and (2) The electric utility to participate fully in any future organized competitive regional wholesale electricity market on the Western Interconnection. Two or more utilities that are affiliated through common ownership and that have an interconnected system for the transmission of electricity shall submit a joint plan.
2. The plan submitted pursuant to subsection 1 must not include any project other than the following high-voltage transmission infrastructure projects for which the Commission has previously approved conceptual designs, permitting and land acquisition: (a) A project for the implementation of high-voltage transmission infrastructure interconnecting northwest and northeast Nevada, which will increase the transmission import capacity of northern Nevada by not less than 800 megawatts.(b) A project for the implementation of high-voltage transmission infrastructure located in southern Nevada and accessing a federally designated renewable energy transmission corridor that will accommodate future renewable energy development and increased demand for electricity.3. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, if an electric utility that primarily serves densely populated counties and an electric utility that primarily serves less densely populated counties submit a joint plan pursuant to subsection 1, 70 percent of the costs of high-voltage transmission infrastructure projects included in the plan must be allocated to the electric utility that primarily serves densely populated counties and 30 percent of such costs must be allocated to the electric utility that primarily serves less densely populated counties. The Commission may review and reassess the allocation of costs between electric utilities based on the actual benefits that accrue to the electric utilities after the projects are in service. The Commission retains full authority to decide any request by an electric utility for the recovery of such costs before a high-voltage transmission infrastructure project is placed into service, and to determine if any proposed financial incentive will be provided on the recovery of such costs.4. The plan submitted pursuant to subsection 1 must include an evaluation of the impact that the implementation of the plan will have on:(a) The reliability of the transmission network of the utility;(b) The resilience of the transmission network of the utility, including, without limitation, the ability of the transmission network to withstand natural or manmade events that could otherwise disrupt the provision of electric service in this State;(c) The development and use of renewable energy resources in this State;(d) Economic activity and economic development in this State over a period of not less than 20 years from the date of the plan, including, without limitation, capital investments, the direct or indirect creation of jobs and additions to the tax base of this State;(e) The projected carbon dioxide emissions of the utility resulting from the generation of electricity, including, without limitation, carbon dioxide emissions from the generation of electricity that is purchased by the electric utility;(f) The ability of the utility to diversify its supply portfolio of renewable energy resources by including larger amounts of geothermal energy generation and hydrogeneration;(g) The ability of the utility to reliably integrate into its supply portfolio larger amounts of electricity from variable renewable energy resources, including, without limitation, solar and wind energy resources;(h) The ability of the utility to reduce its energy supply costs by selling to other states electricity generated in this State from renewable energy during periods when the utility's supply of electricity exceeds the demand for electricity by the customers of the utility;(i) The ability of the utility to reduce its energy supply costs by purchasing electricity generated in other states from renewable energy during periods when the demand for electricity by the customers of the utility exceeds the availability of electricity from renewable generation in this State;(j) The utility's provision of open access to interstate and intrastate transmission services, in accordance with the utility's open access transmission tariff, to other persons in this State using the utility's transmission network, including, without limitation, eligible customers, as defined in NRS 704B.080, and providers of new electric resources, as defined in NRS 704B.130, who are or intend to become customers of the utility's interstate transmission services;(k) The ability of the utility to accommodate requests for access to renewable energy resources that will allow customers who want to acquire all of their energy from zero carbon dioxide emission resources to do so;(l) The development of regional transmission interconnections that may be required for this State to cost-effectively achieve the goals for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions set forth in NRS 445B.380 and 704.7820 or for the electric utility to participate fully in any future organized competitive regional wholesale electricity market on the Western Interconnection;(m) The rates charged to the bundled retail customers of the utility; and(n) The financial risk to the customers of the utility.5. As used in this section, "Western Interconnection" means the synchronously operated electric transmission grid located in the western part of North America, including parts of Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming and Mexico and all of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and the Canadian Provinces of British Columbia and Alberta.Added to NRS by 2021, 3784Added by 2021, Ch. 552,§21, eff. 6/10/2021.