Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak on Thursday announced the membership of a panel that will advise the governor and legislature on potentially bringing the state into an RTO.

Formation of the Regional Transmission Coordination Task Force is a mandate of Senate Bill 448, a wide-ranging energy bill that Sisolak, a Democrat, signed into law on June 10. (See Many Next Steps to Follow Passage of Nevada Energy Bill.)

Sisolak named Sen. Chris Brooks (D), the bill’s author, as chairman of the task force. Its other 18 members include representatives of utilities, labor, environmental groups, business and government.

The governor’s office expects to add five more task force members in coming weeks.

“This task force will further advance our state’s mission of developing our infrastructure, bolstering our commitment to renewable energy and building out our green energy economy,” Sisolak said in a release.

RTO by 2030

SB 448 includes a requirement for transmission providers to join an RTO by January 2030, unless they can show that they haven’t been able to find a viable RTO or that joining an RTO wouldn’t be in the best interest of the providers or their customers.

The Regional Transmission Coordination Task Force will formulate advice on topics and policies related to regional energy transmission in the West.

Under the provisions of SB 448, the task force will study the potential costs and benefits of forming or joining an RTO, for transmission providers and their customers in Nevada. The task force may bring in an independent third party to help analyze those costs and benefits.

The panel will explore policies to help bring transmission providers in the state into an RTO by 2030, including whether any legislation is needed to allow the providers to join an RTO.

The task force will also look at business the state could attract by having a position in a regional wholesale electricity market. It will look at locations for new transmission facilities that would help achieve the state’s clean energy and economic development goals.

The task force will meet at least twice a year and send a report to the governor and legislature by Nov. 30, 2022, ahead of the state’s 2023 Legislative session.

Cost Savings, Reliability

Western Resource Advocates, which has a representative on the task force, pointed to a market study this year that found Western electricity customers could save more than $2 billion a year if a single market operator managed transmission and coordinated generation planning. Such a move could also support renewable energy development and improve reliability. (See Study Shows RTO Could Save West $2B Yearly by 2030.)

“The state task force’s work on a Western regional transmission organization will help Nevada reap the economic, environmental and reliability benefits of regionalization,” Vijay Satyal, Western Resource Advocates’ regional energy markets manager, said in a release.

Members of the Regional Transmission Coordination Task Force are:

• • • Sen. Chris Brooks (chairman)
    • David Bobzien, director, Governor’s Office of Energy
    • Kris Sanchez, deputy director, Governor’s Office of Economic Development
    • Carolyn Barbash, vice president, transmission development and policy, NV Energy
    • Carolyn Turner, executive director, Nevada Rural Electric Association
    • Cameron Dyer, managing senior staff attorney, Western Resource Advocates
    • Eric Witkoski, executive director, Colorado River Commission of Nevada
    • Erik Hansen, chief sustainability officer, Wynn Resorts
    • Jeremy Newman, assistant business manager, IBEW Local Union 396
    • Leslie Mujica, executive director, IBEW/NECA/LMCC – Las Vegas Power Professionals
    • Luke Papez, director, project development, LS Power Development
    • Richard Perkins, president/CEO, The Perkins Co.
    • Mona Tierney-Lloyd, head, U.S. state public policy and institutional affairs, Enel North America
    • Samuel Castor, EVP of policy, Switch
    • John Seeliger, regional energy manager, Nevada Gold Mines
    • Kostan Lathouris, managing member, Lathouris Law PLLC
    • Rebecca Wagner, owner/consultant, Wagner Strategies
    • Elizabeth Becker, FEMA, Local Hire – emergency management specialist
    • Hayley Williamson, chair, Public Utilities Commission of Nevada