District estimates more than $300,000 to bring power to Snowbowl site; board considers alternatives

District staff updated the board on efforts to bring commercial power to a proposed Snowbowl site and on preliminary cost estimates and next steps.

A staff member said NV Energy provided a rough quote to extend power from Mountain City Highway to the Snowbowl site requiring roughly 27 poles; the quoted amount to bring power to the site was about $321,000. Staff emphasized that the figure was a rough quote, that it did not include the later cost of a service drop to the final equipment location, and that the total project—pole line, distribution, service drop and site-build—could push the overall cost of establishing a new powered site well above $1 million under current projected costs.

Staff said NV Energy indicated the district would need to execute a contract clarifying that NV Energy would not be responsible for future maintenance of the privately built line and warned the board of new state maintenance requirements around pole-line vegetation management. The board discussed alternatives including hiring local companies to build and sign maintenance agreements, and pursuing a cost-share with the city because the city has expressed interest in commercial power at the Snowbowl.

No contract to build the line or to accept NV Energy’s quote was signed at the meeting; staff said work on engineering and handoff points with NV Energy will continue and that additional cost-detailing will take several weeks.