Our Future’s Future Future
As a fresh out of the gate legal adult, the impending election is weighing heavy on my mind. Turning 18 and having to vote on issues that are relatively new to my scope is terrifying- but not as terrifying as the thought of Question 3 actually being put into motion.
When Question 3 is brought up, it’s typically in the fashion of big business, NV Energy, and other energy providers. No one is able to look at my peers and I- What will our future look like with the passage of Question 3. What will our children’s future look like? Sure we may have cleaner greener energy, but at what cost?
The future might have to battle inflated electric rates based on the vast competition that would flood to the state. No on 3 has made this one of their biggest points. States that have adopted this energy deregulation amendment have electric bills that average 30% higher than our NV Energy bills now. The future could only lead to more inflation as time drags on.
Even a Texas based energy marketer wanting Question 3 to pass so they can come to Nevada has said “[Question 3] doesn’t say that it guarantees reduced prices…I want to be careful that we’re realistic about what can happen.” If this man or woman supporting Question can’t even ensure that this choice would make energy easier on the average Nevadans wallet, how can we trust anything anyone else says?
How can we trust that our energy prices won’t double like California’s have? After all, California would be able to have a stake in our energy market. According to the No on 3 Coalition, Nevada is trying to solve not having wholesale market by joining California’s wholesale market.
Nevada will slowly start morphing into California at this rate. According to Jude Clemente, we could have power rates 45% more than the national average, and over 470 power outages all over the state in one year. Or we could even beat California if we tried hard enough!
Well what about having a cleaner environment? Wouldn’t Question 3 help push renewable energy?
I will agree and say that Question 3 could help push the greener energy narrative into our state, but we really don’t need it.
NV Energy has been working hard to create a clean energy movement across the state of Nevada. According to their website, they have been able to secure a contract for more than 1,001 gigawatts of renewable energy through 6 solar panel project scattered throughout Northern and Southern Nevada. That’s power for over 600,000 homes in Nevada. That’s a little under half of the 1,249,648 housing units in Nevada.
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These projects will also be able to create jobs for Nevadans, which is more than Question 3 can speak on. As Hunter Stern stresses, the passage will cause a massive job loss for hundreds, possibly thousands, of Nevadans. The ones working for NV energy, the ones who work for smaller businesses who can’t afford their electricity bill, and construction jobs for many of the NV Energy projects.
Did I mention that all these defective side effects of Question 3 will be written into Nevada’s Constitution? The repeal process could take years to occur, and that’s after years of trying to deregulate energy. Question 3 could only begin to be repealed when I have kids, or maybe even grand kids.
Also, Nevada has tried this stunt before- and surprise!- it didn’t work. Riley Snider highlights this in his history lesson written late last year. Nevada legislators approved a law that switched up our energy market to a model much like the one Question 3 in 1997. By 2001, those legislators had switched their script and passed two more laws that reversed that 1997 choice.
Needless to say, our test drive at Question 3 crashed and burned.
What does all this statistical mumbo-jumbo mean for the future of Nevadans?
It means that I will have to work 2 jobs while going to college when I move out in 11 months just to afford my energy bill.
It means that I and hundreds of thousands of students will have to endure blackouts that inhibit our learning.
It means that my children will have renewable energy, but a mom who is never home because she has to work to keep up on bills.
It means that my grandchildren may have a limited job market to keep themselves supported.
It means my great grandchildren will be stuck with the burden of energy deregulation in the state constitution because of selfish choices.
This is Nevada’s future future. This is what Nevadans have to look forward to.
