In mid-2023, NV Energy officials called the utility’s reliance on short-term market purchases “risky and costly” and asked state lawmakers to declare that its open position should be closed quickly.

A year later, the company set targets in its 2024 integrated resource plan to reduce its open position.

Now, at the start of 2026, NV Energy says it will take longer than previously planned to reach its open-position targets. “Open positions” refer to resource needs that are met through short-term market purchases rather than by the utility’s own resources or long-term contracts.

“We aren’t able to have the decrease come as quickly as our plans from the 2024 IRP,” said Janet Wells, vice president of resource planning. The delay is “in order to both consider the load needs as well as the resource availability in the short term.”

Wells’ comments came during a stakeholder briefing Dec. 18 about the company’s plans to file its next IRP in April 2026.

The 2026 resource plan is coming two years after NV Energy’s 2024 IRP, even though the company is only required to file a plan every three years. Nevada Assembly Bill 524, enacted in 2023, authorized NV Energy to file an IRP more often “if necessary.”

The company has faced criticism for following each IRP with a series of amendments, often including proposals for high-priced new resources. Resources proposed in amendments, sometimes with a claim of urgent need, don’t get the thorough review they would receive in a full IRP, critics say.

AB 524 also instructs utilities to include in their IRPs a scenario in which enough resources are acquired to close the open position. That won’t necessarily be the IRP’s preferred scenario. (See Bill Would Require NV Energy to Examine Market Reliance.)

Early IRP Filing

NV Energy did not respond to emails asking why it is filing its next IRP early. But Wells pointed to possible reasons during her presentation to stakeholders.

The utility’s projected load growth over the next 20 years is up roughly 25% compared to projections in the 2024 IRP, she said. At the same time, Wells said, the company is facing an array of challenges. Federal tax credits for solar and wind projects are soon expiring, and federal policy has shifted regarding solar and wind. Tariff impacts on imports remain uncertain.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has emphasized the need for U.S. dominance in artificial intelligence.

And even as load is growing, NV Energy must still meet the state’s renewable portfolio standard of 34% in 2026, 42% from 2027-2029, and 50% in 2030.

One resource strategy NV Energy is adopting is to prioritize projects that reduce or remove the need for permitting on federal lands.

“This way we would provide the greatest likelihood of delivery in the remaining critical years where production tax credits remain possible,” Wells said.

Potential resources being evaluated include solar and storage — both paired and standalone — as well as geothermal and gas turbine projects.

Wells said there are potential projects that would use the utility’s clean transition tariff, in which a large load customer brings their own generation. Those proposals would be submitted in a separate filing around the same time as the IRP.

In response to a question about how many megawatts of new resources would be from renewables compared to fossil fuel-fired resources, Wells said the company would share more information in the next stakeholder briefing, scheduled for Jan. 14.

Open Position Concerns

Brian Turner, director at Advanced Energy United, said NV Energy’s delay in reducing its open position was “somewhat” concerning, given that “the overall market situation in the West is tightening.”

NV Energy’s decision in 2025 to withdraw from the Western Resource Adequacy Program was understandable, Turner said, but adds to the concerns.

“There’s less transparency and less understanding of what’s going to be available,” Turner said.

That makes an alternative resource adequacy program being explored by NV Energy and other entities planning to join CAISO’s Extended Day-Ahead Market all the more important, he added. (See NV Energy Filing Reveals Extensive Talks Around EDAM RA Program.)

Another issue, Turner said, is whether NV Energy’s requests for proposals are robust enough given the growing demand. AEU is calling for reform to the company’s procurement process.

Load Forecasts

Wells said the Jan. 14 stakeholder briefing would also include more details on NV Energy’s load forecast.

In a base case forecast, large loads are “mitigated” — meaning requested loads are reduced by half if a line-extension contract has been signed or by 85% if there’s no contract.

In addition to a base case, the company is analyzing two alternative scenarios. In one, growth from data centers and AI is removed. In the other, mitigations aren’t applied to anticipated large loads.

The alternative scenarios are primarily for use in policy decisions, Wells said, rather than producing realistic forecasts.