A utility may, without any additional approval of the Commission, acquire an existing renewable energy facility or a renewable energy facility that is being developed if:

1. The Commission has accepted a provision of a plan or an amendment to a plan pursuant to NRS 704.751 that provides for the purchase of the electricity generated by the renewable energy facility pursuant to an agreement for the purchase of that electricity.

2. The utility provides a notice to the Commission which states:

(a) That the utility will not include the renewable energy facility in its rate base or expenses associated with the facility in its revenue requirement and, instead, will use the mechanism established by the regulations adopted by the Commission pursuant to subsection 4 of NRS 704.752 to account for the electricity generated by the renewable energy facility and charge a just and reasonable price for that electricity to its customers through the deferred accounting mechanism set forth in NRS 704.187;

(b) The contract price originally approved by the Commission will be the just and reasonable price that the utility will charge its customers for electricity generated by the renewable energy facility pursuant to the accounting mechanism set forth in NRS 704.187;

(c) The utility agrees to be bound by all of the terms and conditions of the agreement for the purchase of the electricity that was accepted by the Commission pursuant to NRS 704.751 and acknowledges that, following the conclusion of the term of the agreement, the utility may not include:

(1) Any capital investment associated with the renewable energy facility in the utility’s rate base; or

(2) Any expense associated with the renewable energy facility in the utility’s revenue requirement; and

(d) That the utility acknowledges that, at the conclusion of the existing term of the agreement, the utility may not include a just and reasonable charge for the price of the electricity produced by the renewable energy facility in the deferred accounting mechanism set forth in NRS 704.187 unless the Commission approves a just and reasonable charge by reference to a competitive market price through a plan filed pursuant to NRS 704.741, or an amendment to such plan, filed by the utility pursuant to the regulations adopted by the Commission pursuant to subsection 4 of NRS 704.752.

(Added to NRS by 2019, 11)