Nevada Power Company
A former Las Vegas-based electric utility that generated, transmitted, distributed, and sold electricity in southern Nevada.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Nevada Power Company was a Las Vegas-based electric utility serving southern Nevada. Its business included the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution, and retail sale of electricity to households, businesses, government customers, and major commercial users in the Las Vegas area and surrounding communities. By 2005, the company served more than 700,000 electric customers across portions of three Nevada counties and operated across a service territory of more than 4,000 square miles. The company originated on March 20, 1906, as Consolidated Power and Telephone, which supplied electricity and telephone service to the newly established town of Las Vegas. In 1929, the combined enterprise was divided into separate telephone and power businesses. The power operation became Southern Nevada Power and later adopted the Nevada Power name after acquiring Elko-Lamoille Power Company in 1961. Nevada Power became one of the first Nevada utilities to receive Hoover Dam power in 1937. As the Las Vegas Valley expanded after the Second World War, demand exceeded the available Hoover Dam allocation, prompting the company to develop steam-generation capacity and later a broader portfolio of natural-gas, coal, hydroelectric, and purchased-power resources. Nevada Power was publicly traded for part of its history and became the first Nevada company listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1962. In 1998 or 1999, depending on the treatment of the merger and its corporate completion, it combined with Sierra Pacific Resources, the principal electric and natural-gas utility serving northern Nevada. The resulting company retained the Sierra Pacific name while moving its headquarters to Las Vegas. Nevada Power continued as the southern Nevada operating subsidiary. The company’s strategy changed substantially during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Nevada’s proposed electricity-market deregulation encouraged utilities to consider divesting generating assets and relying more heavily on market purchases. Nevada Power delayed major new construction during this period. The western United States energy crisis of 2001, however, exposed the risks of dependence on imported electricity and contributed to the suspension of deregulation efforts. Nevada Power subsequently pursued additional generation and transmission capacity, including large phase-shifting transformers at its Crystal switching station and purchases or development interests in several gas-fired plants. Nevada Power stopped operating as a distinct public-facing brand in 2008, when the company began doing business as NV Energy as part of a unified corporate identity for the Sierra Pacific system. The NV Energy business was later acquired by MidAmerican Energy Holdings, now Berkshire Hathaway Energy, in a transaction announced in 2013 and completed after regulatory and shareholder processes in 2014. The Nevada Power legal and operating history therefore forms part of the predecessor history of the present NV Energy utility system rather than that of an independent current brand.
History
Nevada Power Company traces its origins to Consolidated Power and Telephone, founded on March 20, 1906, to provide telephone and electric service to Las Vegas. The two businesses separated in 1929. The electric operation became Southern Nevada Power and developed alongside the Las Vegas Valley, whose population and commercial activity expanded rapidly during the twentieth century. In 1937, the utility became one of the first in Nevada to receive electricity from Hoover Dam. Hoover power provided an important early supply source, but postwar growth eventually pushed southern Nevada demand beyond the available allocation. Southern Nevada Power responded by developing steam turbines and other generating resources. In 1961, after acquiring Elko-Lamoille Power Company, the company adopted the Nevada Power name. The following year it became the first Nevada company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Nevada Power historically combined owned generation with purchased power. It bought electricity from other suppliers during some periods, then resumed a more substantial role in operating its own plants as demand increased. Its generation portfolio and supply arrangements included natural-gas facilities, coal-fired resources, Hoover Dam power, and electricity imported over regional transmission lines. During the late 1990s, Nevada’s electricity deregulation plans encouraged the company to consider selling generating assets and relying more on market purchases. Nevada Power postponed construction of some new facilities while the regulatory framework remained uncertain. The western energy crisis of 2001 changed that strategy. Deregulation was put on hold, and the company again pursued additional owned or controlled generation to reduce exposure to volatile wholesale markets and constrained transmission paths. Nevada Power merged with Sierra Pacific Resources in the late 1990s, with the merged company retaining the Sierra Pacific name and relocating its headquarters to Las Vegas. Nevada Power remained the southern Nevada operating business within the combined utility. In 2003, it installed two major phase-shifting transformers at the Crystal switching station to help manage imported electricity. In 2004, it acquired a partially completed 1,200-megawatt facility from Duke Energy North America. In 2005, it announced plans to acquire Pinnacle West Capital Corporation’s 75 percent interest in a 570-megawatt plant, with the remaining interest held by the Southern Nevada Water Authority. The company also managed a changing generation fleet. Mohave Power Station, in which Nevada Power held a minority share, ceased operations at the end of 2005. Plans were announced in 2006 to retire three older units at the Edward W. Clark Generating Station. At the same time, newer natural-gas facilities, including the Harry Allen and Chuck Lenzie stations, formed part of the system’s effort to support regional growth. On September 22, 2008, Nevada Power began doing business as NV Energy. This was a branding and corporate-identity decision intended to present the Nevada utility operations under one name; it marked the end of Nevada Power as a distinct customer-facing brand. In 2013, MidAmerican Energy Holdings announced an agreement to purchase NV Energy. Following the required approvals, the transaction made the Nevada utility system part of the organization now known as Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Nevada Power is therefore best understood today as a historical utility brand and predecessor operating company within the NV Energy system.
- 2014
NV Energy joins Berkshire Hathaway Energy
[1]The acquisition of NV Energy by MidAmerican Energy Holdings, now Berkshire Hathaway Energy, is completed after required approvals.
- 2008
NV Energy identity replaces the Nevada Power brand
[1]Nevada Power begins doing business as NV Energy as part of a unified corporate branding program.
- 2005
Mohave Power Station closes
[1]The coal-fired Mohave Power Station, in which Nevada Power held a minority interest, shuts down on December 31.
- 2004
Purchase of a partially completed plant
[1]Nevada Power acquires a partially completed 1,200-megawatt generating plant from Duke Energy North America.
- 2003
Crystal switching-station upgrades
[1]Two large phase-shifting transformers are installed to help control imported power flows.
- 1999
Combination with Sierra Pacific Resources
[1]Nevada Power combines with Sierra Pacific Resources, forming a broader Nevada utility structure.
- 1962
New York Stock Exchange listing
[1]Nevada Power becomes the first Nevada company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
- 1961
The Nevada Power name is adopted
[1]Following the acquisition of Elko-Lamoille Power Company, Southern Nevada Power changes its name to Nevada Power.
- 1937
Hoover Dam power enters the system
[1]Southern Nevada Power becomes one of the first Nevada utilities to receive Hoover Dam electricity.
- 1929
Power and telephone operations separate
[1]The original combined utility is divided into separate telephone and electric businesses; the power business becomes Southern Nevada Power.
Products and positioning
A regulated, vertically integrated electric utility focused on reliable power supply and grid service for the rapidly growing southern Nevada market.
Electric utility service · 1906
Regulated retail electricity
Nevada Power supplied regulated electricity to residential, commercial, industrial, and public-sector customers across southern Nevada. The service included customer connection, metering, billing, distribution, and delivery through the local electric grid.
Power generation
Electric generation
The company owned or held interests in a portfolio of generating facilities, including natural-gas, coal, and other resources. Generation capacity was expanded and reshaped as Las Vegas-area demand grew and wholesale-market conditions became less dependable.
Electric grid infrastructure
Transmission and distribution
Nevada Power operated local distribution infrastructure and participated in transmission flows serving southern Nevada. Its Crystal switching station and associated high-voltage facilities were important for moving imported electricity into the Las Vegas-area system.
Hydroelectric power supply · 1937
Hoover Dam power allocation
Hoover Dam electricity was an important historical supply source for the Nevada Power system. The allocation supported early growth but represented only part of the region’s total electricity supply as demand expanded.
Brand decisions
2013
Agreement to sell NV Energy to MidAmericanM&ABackground
NV Energy was operating as the unified successor brand to Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific’s Nevada utility operations.
Action taken
MidAmerican Energy Holdings announced an agreement to acquire NV Energy, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.
Aftermath
The transaction was completed in 2014, placing the Nevada utility business within the group now known as Berkshire Hathaway Energy.
2008
Unified rebranding as NV EnergyStrategyBackground
Nevada Power operated within the broader Sierra Pacific utility structure, which included operations in northern and southern Nevada.
Action taken
The company began doing business as NV Energy and adopted a single customer-facing identity.
Aftermath
Nevada Power ceased to function as a distinct public-facing brand, although its historical operating business became part of the continuing NV Energy system.
2006
Retirement plan for Clark Station unitsGeneration changeBackground
Older generating units at the Edward W. Clark Generating Station were part of a changing southern Nevada generation fleet.
Action taken
Nevada Power announced plans to decommission units 1, 2, and 3, representing approximately 175 megawatts in total.
Aftermath
The plan reduced reliance on older units while the wider system developed newer generating resources.
2004
Acquisition of a partially completed 1,200-megawatt plantM&ABackground
Rapid growth in southern Nevada and the post-2001 supply environment increased the value of additional generation under utility control.
Action taken
Nevada Power purchased a partially completed plant from Duke Energy North America.
Aftermath
The purchase supported the company’s effort to expand its internally controlled generation portfolio.
2001
Return to a more self-reliant generation strategyStrategyBackground
Nevada’s proposed electricity deregulation had encouraged reliance on market purchases and possible divestiture of generation. The western energy crisis exposed the risks of that approach and contributed to the suspension of deregulation.
Action taken
Nevada Power resumed pursuing additional owned or controlled generation and related infrastructure to reduce dependence on imported wholesale electricity.
Aftermath
The company acquired or pursued interests in additional large generating facilities and upgraded transmission-control equipment during the following years.
Recent events
- 2013
MidAmerican announces acquisition of NV Energy[1]
M&A
MidAmerican Energy Holdings, later renamed Berkshire Hathaway Energy, announced an agreement to acquire NV Energy, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.
- 2008
Nevada Power adopts the NV Energy business identity[1]
Leadership change
Nevada Power began doing business as NV Energy as the corporate group unified its customer-facing identity across Nevada.
- 2006
Nevada Power plans Clark Station retirements[1]
Other
The company announced plans to retire units 1, 2, and 3 at the Edward W. Clark Generating Station, representing approximately 175 megawatts of capacity.
- 2004
Nevada Power acquires a partially completed generating plant[1]
M&A · Product generation
Nevada Power purchased a partially completed 1,200-megawatt plant from Duke Energy North America as part of its effort to increase internally controlled generation.
- 2003
Nevada Power installs large phase-shifting transformers[1]
Other
The company installed two large phase-shifting transformers at its Crystal switching station to manage substantial imports of electricity into southern Nevada.
- 1999
Nevada Power merges with Sierra Pacific Resources[1]
M&A
Nevada Power combined with Sierra Pacific Resources, creating a Nevada-wide utility structure that retained the Sierra Pacific name and headquartered the merged company in Las Vegas.
Sources1 sources
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