Key Takeaways
- “We oppose Question 3 because electricity deregulation is a failed experiment that has resulted in higher electric rates in other states. At a time when education budgets are already squeezed, our school districts simply can’t afford to have our limited resources diverted from the classroom to pay for increased electricity costs,” said Ruben Murillo, Jr. a special education teacher in Clark County and President of NSEA.
The NSEA TIP Board of Directors voted unanimously to oppose this risky and costly Constitutional Amendment because it would leave Nevada educators, students, and their families with higher electric rates and a less reliable power supply.
Virginia Mills, President of the Education Support Employees Association in Las Vegas, added, “Question 3 would increase electric rates for Nevada residents, taking money out of the pockets of our state’s hardworking education support professionals, teachers, retirees, medically fragile, and the families of the students we serve. We strongly urge Nevadans to get the facts and vote NO on Question 3 this November.”
English teacher Natha Anderson, President of the Washoe Education Association, said, “An independent study by the PUCN found that Question 3 would likely cost more than $4 billion to implement, including adding more than $100 million in new start-up costs and $45 million in new annual maintenance costs. Rather than pursue risky electricity deregulation, we need to be putting those kinds of funds into our struggling schools.”
BACKGROUND ON QUESTION 3:
If passed on Nevada’s November 2018 statewide ballot, Question 3 would dismantle and deregulate Nevada’s existing electricity system – one of the most affordable and reliable in the nation – and replace it with a deregulated system established by the legislature and courts.
In deregulated states, average residential electricity rates are 30% higher than they are in Nevada. As the non-partisan Guinn Center concluded in their Technical Report on Question 3 (issued in July), Nevada would no longer be able to protect consumers from rate increases if Question 3 were to pass.
In April, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) released a 125-page report on the risks, costs and uncertainties of Question 3. The report details that Question 3 would increase Nevadans’ average monthly electric bills for at least the first 10 years and leave Nevada consumers and taxpayers liable for billions of dollars in costs.
For more information, please visit NOon3.com
