Together, Sierra Pacific Power and Nevada Power own and operate nine power facilities that keep the lights on for nearly 1.2 million customers throughout Nevada and north eastern California.
While both utilities produce nearly half of this electricity on an annual basis, the remaining power is bought and transported from other power producers in the state or throughout the west. Find out more specific information about power supply in northern or southern Nevada by following the links above.
Southern Nevada: Where Does Your Power Come From?
Nevada Power generates electricity at its own power plants in southern Nevada and imports electricity from out-of-state sources. Since 2006, Nevada Power Company has added about 1,800 megawatts of company-owned generation to its fleet. These newer, more efficient plants use less fuel and water and produce less emissions.
The addition of these plants also has allowed older, less-efficient plants to be closed. Of the electricity used by our customers -- a combination of company-owned power plants and power purchased from other providers -- about 70 percent comes from natural gas-fired generating units. Most of the electricity the company imports from other providers is secured through short and long-term contracts. A small amount of imported power is purchased daily on the spot market.
Northern Nevada: Where Does Your Power Come From?
Sierra Pacific Power generates electricity at its own power plants in northern Nevada and imports electricity from out-of-state sources. During 2006, for example, the company's Valmy, Tracy and Fort Churchill power stations produced about 43 percent of the electricity provided to the company's 361,000 electric customers.
The rest was generated by other power producers and delivered to Sierra Pacific over high voltage transmission lines. Much of it is imported from the Pacific Northwest and some is purchased from the small geothermal power plants that dot the northern Nevada landscape.
Of the electricity produced at company-owned power plants, about 56 percent is from the natural gas and oil-fired generating units at the Tracy and Fort Churchill facilities and the rest is from the coal-fired generating units at Valmy. Less than one percent comes from three small hydroelectric plants along the Truckee River.
Most of the electricity the company imports from other providers is secured through short and long-term contracts. A small amount of imported power is purchased daily on the spot market.
