Utilities · Nevada
NV Energy in 2026: Nevada is two different solar markets
Updated August 22, 2026
NV Energy looks like one statewide utility until solar enters the conversation. It is two legal utilities with two different meters. Nevada Power serves Southern Nevada and still nets new residential solar monthly. Sierra Pacific serves Northern Nevada, and applications approved on or after October 1, 2025 net every 15 minutes. That is not a billing footnote. It changes what a noon export can do for a Reno or Sparks bill.
75%
Tier 4 credit percentage for new net metering systems of no more than 25 kW
8.049¢
Southern Tier 4 export credit per kWh, effective July 1 through September 30, 2026
15 min
Northern netting interval for newer NMR-2025 applications
Sources: NV Energy Net Metering Rates; southern net metering rate insert; and northern NMR-2025 tariff.
Read NV Energy's net metering rules
Open the utility's current net metering page before comparing a proposal with your billing territory.
Open net metering rulesOne brand, two utilities
Southern Nevada is Nevada Power Company doing business as NV Energy. It operates in Clark and Nye Counties and reported about 1.1 million retail electric customers in its 2025 filing. Northern Nevada is Sierra Pacific Power Company doing business as NV Energy, with about 0.4 million retail electric customers. Both sit under NV Energy, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company.
Sources: Nevada Power residential rate insert; Sierra Pacific residential rate insert; and NV Energy 2025 Form 10-K.
Treating those territories as one market is the first mistake in a Nevada solar proposal. The companies share a brand, but their residential schedules differ and, more importantly, so does the way new solar exports offset usage.
Current residential rates: the clean comparison is not the headline rate
For July 1 through September 30, 2026, Southern Nevada Schedule RS lists 11.622 cents per kWh for BTGR plus BTER and an $18.00 monthly Basic Service Charge. The effective all in energy rate is 11.935 cents per kWh before the Universal Energy Charge and local government fees. Do not call 11.622 cents the total rate. It is not.
| Residential schedule | BTGR + BTER | Basic Service Charge | Effective energy rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| South: Nevada Power Schedule RS | 11.622¢ / kWh | $18.00 / month | 11.935¢ / kWh before UEC and local fees |
| North: Sierra Pacific Schedule D-1 | 11.243¢ / kWh | $18.50 / month | 11.528¢ / kWh |
Sources: Southern Nevada Schedule RS rate insert and Northern Nevada Schedule D-1 rate insert.
The statewide comparison number is higher: the EIA reports a 2024 Nevada residential average of 15.00 cents per kWh across all utilities. That is useful context, not an NV Energy tariff. NV Energy adjusts BTER and DEAA quarterly, so these figures need their date attached.
Sources: EIA Table 4, 2024; Southern Nevada quarterly BTER notice; and NV Energy Energy Pricing Plans.
The 15 minute divide matters more than the 75 percent headline
AB 405 established four compensation tiers for systems of no more than 25 kW. Tier 4 is open, has no capacity limit, and credits excess energy at 75 percent of the rate that otherwise applies. In Southern Nevada, NMR-405 nets that balance monthly. A Schedule RS customer entering Tier 4 receives 8.049 cents per exported kWh in the current quarter.
Sources: AB 405 enrolled text; PUCN Net Metering; and Southern Nevada net metering rate insert.
For Northern Nevada applications approved on or after October 1, 2025, NMR-2025 calculates net excess every 15 minutes. Power exported at noon does not wait until evening to offset an import. That materially changes payback in Reno and Sparks. The northern rate insert does not print a separate NMR-2025 credit value, so the published figure for that specific rider is n.a. Existing northern solar customers remain on monthly netting.
Sources: NV Energy Net Metering Rates; Schedule NMR-2025; Northern Nevada net metering rate insert; and NV Energy interconnection handbook.
The protection is real, but describe it precisely. NRS 704.773(8) lets a customer generator continue net metering for 20 years at the location where the system was originally installed, including the applicable credit percentage. The statute does not say 20 years from interconnection. NV Energy says the tier is based on the application date, while the exact start date convention in its billing systems remains n.a.
Sources: NRS 704.773; PUCN Net Metering; and NV Energy NMR-405 information.
TOU is optional, but verify the clock before you model it
Solar customers are not required to move to time of use. NMR-405 and NMR-2025 sit on top of the otherwise applicable rate schedule. Southern optional ORS-TOU has an $18.00 monthly Basic Service Charge, a summer on peak price of 47.155 cents per kWh, a summer off peak price of 7.305 cents, and a winter price of 8.658 cents. Its summer on peak window is June 1 through September 30, 6:01 p.m. through 9:00 p.m. daily.
Sources: Southern NMR-405 tariff; Northern NMR-2025 tariff; and Southern residential rate insert.
Northern TOU is where the documents conflict. The current Northern Nevada residential rate insert gives OD-1-TOU a summer on peak window of 6:01 p.m. through 9:00 p.m. daily. The net metering insert for the same quarter instead says 3:01 p.m. through 9:00 p.m. Both are NV Energy documents. Present both if you need to describe the conflict, and verify Schedule OD-1-TOU before using either clock in a sales model.
Conflicting NV Energy documents: Northern residential rate insert, 6:01 p.m. start, and Northern net metering rate insert, 3:01 p.m. start.
The battery incentive is gone. Do not sell the old flyer.
NV Energy's live solar page says incentives for private rooftop solar are no longer available. The handbook it links covers non incentivized renewable energy and non incentivized storage. Old incentive documents still exist online, but they are stale program material, not an offer a homeowner can count on. The exact current battery incentive landing page is n.a. because the storage URL returned no substantive content in the research behind this guide.
Sources: NV Energy Solar and Energy Storage and Net Metering and Energy Storage Interconnection Handbook, version 7.
Interconnection: clear fees, two 10 business day review windows
The application goes through PowerClerk. Rule 15 initial review costs $189 in Southern Nevada and $184 in Northern Nevada. The application is incomplete until the fee is paid, and it is canceled if payment is not received within 30 days of submission.
| Stage | Published standard |
|---|---|
| Initial application review | First 10 business days |
| Applicant documentation window after approval | One year |
| Documentation review and meter inspection | Second 10 business days |
| Correction deadline | 60 calendar days before cancellation for inactivity |
Sources: NV Energy PowerClerk portal and NV Energy interconnection handbook.
The utility emails Permission to Operate after the system passes Interconnection Safety Verification and required meters are set. It does not publish a separate business day standard for that final PTO step. Do not energize before final verification: export credit does not begin until NV Energy's meters are set.
Source: NV Energy interconnection handbook.
Southern Nevada has a January 2027 demand charge risk
In Docket 25-02016, regulators approved a mandatory residential daily demand charge for Southern Nevada. It is based on the highest 15 minute demand each day, reset daily, then summed across the billing period. Implementation was first set for April 1, 2026, moved to October, then delayed again to January 1, 2027. NV Energy says Southern Nevada rooftop solar customers can expect a small bill increase from it.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal reporting on the delay; NV Energy Daily Demand information; and EQ Research issue brief.
There is also a nearer term rate signal. On August 19, 2026, NV Energy filed for an October 1, 2026 Southern Nevada residential single family decrease of 3.63 percent, or about $5.01 per month. It is a filing, not the rate in force when this guide was updated. The docket number was not stated in the coverage reviewed, so it is n.a.
Sources: Las Vegas Sun, August 19, 2026 and FOX5 Vegas, August 19, 2026.
The renewable portfolio is not the weak point. NV Energy reports 47.5 percent renewable portfolio standard compliance in 2025 against a 34 percent requirement. That is a useful grid context, but it does not override the export and demand charge math on an individual bill.
NV Energy solar questions, answered
Does NV Energy still offer net metering for new solar customers?
Is the 75 percent export rate locked for 20 years?
Is there an NV Energy battery incentive in 2026?
What does NV Energy charge to interconnect solar?
What we could not verify
As of August 22, 2026, the exact Northern Nevada NMR-2025 credit rate is n.a. because the current rate insert does not print it. The current battery incentive landing page is n.a. because NV Energy's energy storage URL had no substantive content, and a formal PUCN closure order or date for the old residential storage incentive is also n.a. Northern on peak timing conflicts between two NV Energy inserts, so this page publishes both cited versions rather than pretending the conflict is resolved. Finally, the tariff pages say their posted tariffs are updated only from time to time and do not replace official tariffs on file with the PUCN.
Sources: Northern net metering rate insert; NV Energy Solar and Energy Storage; Northern Nevada tariff index; and Southern Nevada tariff index.
Check the current NV Energy rate plan
Rate adjustments are quarterly. Read the current pricing plan before you compare any proposal to this guide.
Open current rate plansOpen the Northern Nevada tariff index
If your home is in Northern Nevada, confirm the latest rider and time of use schedule before relying on a sales model.
Open Northern Nevada tariffs