NV Energy Rule 15 is the tariff that governs how a private generating facility — like rooftop solar — interconnects with the grid and how the customer is billed and credited. In Southern Nevada (Las Vegas) it is filed as Rule 15 South under Nevada Power Company; Northern Nevada uses Rule 15 North under Sierra Pacific Power. It sets three things: your basic service charge, the rate you pay for grid power, and the rate you are paid for excess solar.
The three components of Rule 15
Every net-metered account in Nevada is billed under the same three-part structure laid out in the tariff:
- Basic service charge — a fixed monthly connection fee that applies whether or not you export any power.
- Volumetric energy rate — the per-kWh price you pay for the electricity NV Energy sells you when your panels aren't covering the load (nights, cloudy spells, peak summer evenings).
- Excess generation credit — the rate NV Energy pays you for surplus solar exported to the grid. For new net-metering customers this is currently valued at 75% of the retail rate, and it is locked for 20 years from your interconnection date.
What Rule 15 requires to interconnect
Rule 15 is also the interconnection rulebook. A residential solar system must stay within the net-metering capacity limit (1 MW AC — far above any home system), pass NV Energy's design and safety standards, and be submitted through NV Energy's online portal, PowerClerk. An application fee applies and must clear before the application advances. Your installer or solar agent normally files this for you; the official document is published on nvenergy.com as "Rule 15 South" (Las Vegas) and "Rule 15 North" (Reno).
Why Rule 15 matters to your payback
The 75%-of-retail export credit and the 20-year lock are the two numbers that drive solar economics in Las Vegas. Because the credit is locked at interconnection, the value of your exported power rises automatically as NV Energy raises retail rates over the next two decades — which is the core of the rate-hike hedge. It also means systems are best sized to your actual usage rather than dramatically oversized for export, since exports are credited below retail. For the full mechanics see our NV Energy net metering deep dive.
Rule 15 has changed before and will again — it is a regulated tariff subject to the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada. The 20-year lock is what protects customers who interconnect under today's terms from future downward revisions.