Expensive electric bills frustrate Las Vegas residents amid extreme heat

Jose Alvarez, 35, has epilepsy and said he has no choice but to keep his apartment cold so the heat doesn’t trigger a seizure. The consequence of that is higher electric bills, especially during the summer.

“I have epilepsy, so like that’s sensitive to heat… Just keeping the house cool, is priority number one for me, because that removes one of the factors that goes into my epilepsy,” explained Alvarez.

“When I first moved here, cost of electricity was rather reasonable,” he said. “Then after COVID-19, it started just going up and up and up and up.”

Alvarez lives in a two-bedroom apartment and has been paying around $250 per month on electric bills. In the upcoming month, Alvarez’s electric bill is projected to be $275.

He’s not alone. Customers in Nevada, on average, are seeing an extra $100.05 on top of their existing electric bill, according to a study conducted by Texas Electricity Ratings.

The study found Nevada had the second-highest increase in monthly electric bills.

With the additional $100.05 the total average cost for electricity in the summer season is $681.21 a month, according to the study.

Lowering the thermostat?

Alvarez said some days he sets his thermostat a little higher “just to see how much I could really tolerate … I’m just like, we’ll see how high it can go. But that also runs the risk of, what if the AC fails?”

If the AC fails, he risks triggering a seizure.

Alvarez is also worried about more vulnerable populations.

“For the elderly, I’m thinking they’re on fixed incomes. If they’re paying, they’re paying out of their teeth for electricity,” said Alvarez, “Are you going to allow people to risk a health condition that they might have, or their sensitivity to heat just because you want extra dollars?”

Part of the reason why electric bills are so costly in the summer is because customers simply are using more energy, said Antoine Tilmon, the vice president of customer operations for NV Energy.

“The issue with the summer is that it’s hot outside, and the first thing customers are going to do is they’re going to turn on their air conditioning units… So what’s driving up our customers bills is the weather,” Tilmon said.

NV Energy previously announced that rates would be lowered from July 1 to Sept. 30, but with more energy use, customers are still seeing higher electric bills.

“Our customers are seeing that our rates actually went down. If the temperature had stayed the same and you were able to use same amount of kilowatts per hour, your bill would have actually went down,” said Tilmon.

How to keep costs low

For those looking to control their costs, Tilmon advises that “78 (degrees) is the lowest you really want to set your thermostat.” He also recommends “the use of ceiling fans or even desk fans, because what that does is it moves the air around you. It helps you feel cooler.”

Another way to keep costs low is to use larger appliances like dishwashers and washing machines later in the day.

“It’s really important not to use (larger appliances) in the peak of the day, because, again, you’re adding heat to the home” said Tilmon.

For vulnerable populations, Tilmon explained that NV Energy has programs for the elderly or those with medical conditions. The only issue is that they must self-identify to NV Energy so the company can enroll them into a corresponding program.

Contact Annie Vong at avong@reviewjournal.com.