The cost of being regulated by the Nevada Public Utilities Commission (PUC) went down Wednesday — by a fraction of a penny (1/200th of a cent to be exact). The three-member PUC voted unanimously to lower its assessment against all of the private-sector utilities it regulates to 1.90 mills from 1.95 mills.

With the mill equaling 1/10-of-a-cent and the amount levied against gross operating revenues from in-state operations, which often run into the hundreds of millions of dollars for the largest utilities, the PUC can count on several millions of dollars from each utility company to help underwrite its regulatory commission budget.

“Revenues from: the mill tax will fund the annual operations of the PUC,” said a commission spokesperson in Carson City, NV. The new rate assumes “adequate resources are available” to meet legislatively approved budgets and federal utility issues that the state commission must deal with, according to PUC Secretary Crystal Jackson.

Under Nevada law, the state PUC could levy up to 3.5 mills against the utilities, Jackson said. She cited several factors enabling the lower charge.

The 2009 budget closing projections showed the PUC expenditures were below the legislatively approved budget due to “continued [operating] improvements” through efficiencies and by not fully expending budget categories, Jackson said. “Those savings will be balanced forward to the commission’s reserve account.”

The new level still allows the PUC to move closer to its “optimum reserve” during the current tough economic times, Jackson said.

©Copyright 2009Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news reportmay not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in anyform, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.