Elko
County Utilities
Electric
Nevada's utility rates are competitive with other major western states. Nevada Assembly Bill 366, passed in 1997, opened the electric utility industry to competition. An added benefit of the deregulation process is a three-year cap on rates to business and residential customers. As of 2000, consumers have the opportunity to select their power provider.
The state's utility companies make use of various sources for producing energy. Coal, hydropower, and natural gas combined with purchase agreements provide a variety of options for delivering highly dependable service at the lowest possible price. Power companies offer cost-based time-of-use rate schedules for commercial and industrial customers, helping them save on their energy costs by coordinating their heavy-load consumption.
Please use the rate schedules and worksheets in the table below to estimate your power bill. If you have any questions on any of the worksheets or rates, please contact us at 1.800.824.8856.
In addition, Sierra Pacific would be happy to calculate a power estimate for your company. Power Estimate Requirements 
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Carlin, Wells, and West Wendover are served by:
Wells Rural Electric Co.
1322 Chestnut St.
Carlin, NV 89822
775.754.6362
Geothermal
Alternative Energy Geothermal Resources in Elko County
Within Elko County, there are several established geothermal sources, and
many additional resources with high potential for development, according
to the Geothermal Resource Assessment conducted by Converse Consultants
of Elko, Nevada. Resources within Elko County include both surface water
and ground water sources. Developed resources are utilized in the cities
of Elko and Wells, and additional geothermal resources have been identified
in Carlin, Jackpot, Ruby Valley and Tuscarora.
History of Geothermal Use in Elko County
The Elko area has a long history of geothermal water use and development,
beginning with Native American use of water at the "Hot Hole"
in southwestern Elko. Two active geothermal systems are in place in Elko
- one private and one public. The Elko County School District and the Elko
Heat Company operate geothermal district heating systems that provide hot
water to municipal, residential and commercial establishments. The Elko
Heat Company, one of Nevada's largest geothermal district heating systems,
has provided service to Elko since 1982. In addition to space heating and
winter ice-melting applications, a laundry service directly uses the 180º
F water. Elko Heat Co. reports that they are at 20% capacity, and are able
to readily expand their geothermal service to additional customers in the
downtown and light industrial areas west of Elko.
Geothermal Data
According to Dean Alford, principal hydro geologist and managing officer
with Converse Consultant's Elko, Nevada office, several geothermal wells
have been drilled in the Elko area. The Elko Heat Company well was drilled
in 1982 to a depth of 869 feet with hot water encountered beginning about
705 feet. Flow was reported to be 700 gallons per minute with a temperature
of 175º F. Geothermal waters in the Wells area are reported at 200
to 230ºF. The Wells Rural Electric Company well chemistry allows calculation
of a geothermometer reservoir temperature of 232ºF. The Carlin area
reports a reservoir size at 0.79 cubic miles, with hot spring temperatures
near boiling (212° F). Geothermometry calculations are reported in a
range from 177° F to 244° F. Considerable study has been done regarding
the feasibility of direct use heating systems in Carlin, based upon the
temperature and yield of the Carlin Hot Springs area.
Gas
Southwest Gas Corporation
744 Commercial Street
Elko, NV 89801
775.738.7138
Water
Water Resources in the Elko Area
Municipal water supply in the bulk of Elko County is derived from groundwater
resources, with Montello and Jarbidge being the exceptions. The Interstate-80
corridor communities derive their municipal supplies from groundwater, often
tied to the Humboldt River and its tributaries as a recharge source. While
most groundwater supplies are fully allocated through the water rights process,
supplies in many areas are ready for development and beneficial use. For
example, there is over 27,000 acre feet (an acre foot is 325,900 gallons,
and supplies a family of four for one year) of groundwater is available
and permitted in the Elko area, with the City of Elko holding over 18,000
acre-feet in water rights. In contrast, only 8,000-9,000 acre-feet are used
annually within the basin. This allows plenty of room for residential and
commercial growth in the City. The same story can be told for much of the
rest of Elko County.
Water Quality
Overall water quality in most areas within the County is very good to excellent.
One measure of quality often used by manufacturers is Total Dissolved Solids
(TDS). EPA standard require TDS to be less than 1,000. Water in southern
Nevada is often 700 to 800 TDS, where water in Elko is less than 350, and
in Spring Creek, TDS is less than 275. Travelers to the area often remark
upon how sweet tasting the water in the area is, compared to communities
like Reno, LA, Las Vegas or Phoenix.
City of Elko
1751 College Ave.
Elko, NV 89801
775.738.5176
Spring Creek Utilities
285 East Spring Creek Pkwy
Elko, NV 89801
775.753.6880
City of Carlin
Eighth and Main Streets
Carlin, NV 89822
775.754.6354
City of Wells
279 Clover Ave.
Wells, NV 89835
775.752.3355
City of West
Wendover
801 Alpine St.
P.O. Box 2825
West Wendover, NV 89883
775.664.3081
Sewer
City of Elko
1751 College Ave.
Elko, NV 89801
775.738.5176
City of Carlin
Eighth and Main Streets
Carlin, NV 89822
775.754.6354
City of Wells
279 Clover Ave.
Wells, NV 89835
775.752.3355
City of West
Wendover
801 Alpine St.
P.O. Box 2825
West Wendover, NV 89883
775.664.3081
Disposal
Elko Sanitation Company
355 West Silver St.
P.O. Box 580
Elko, NV 89801
775.738.3771
Ace Disposal
700 South First St.
Wendover, UT 84083
435.665.2302
Environmental
Assistance
Nevada Small Business Development Center
Business Environmental Program
6100 Neil Road, Ste. 400
Reno, NV 89511
775.689.6688
Public Health Environmental Control
1711 North Roop Street
Carson City, NV 89706
775.887.2190
Telephone
Citizens Communications
111 West Front St.
Elko, NV 89801
775.738.0208
Telecommunications
Frontier Communications, Leading the Way on the Information Highway
Though Elko may seem rural, it is equipped with state-of-the-art Internet
and data transport solutions through Frontier Communications, a Citizens
Communications company. Frontier is one of the nation's largest independent
telecommunications providers offering local, long distance, and Internet
access services in 24 states over 2.4 million access lines.
High-Tech Capabilities
Elko's broadband offerings include ATM, Frame Relay, DSL, T-1, and Point-to-Point.
These services range from low-speed 56-kilobit services all the way up to
high-speed DS3 type circuits, which run at 50-megabit (millions of bits
per second) speeds. In addition, Frontier offers direct fiber optic connectivity,
which is the connection used at the Newmont mine site north of Carlin.
Switching Systems
The local switching systems consist of a Nortel-DMS100, which is capable
of up to 100,000 access lines, of which 20,000 are presently being utilized.
There are numerous remote digital switches located around Elko, Spring Creek,
Lamoille, Ryndon and Osino. In addition, these digital services are offered
to the cities of Wells, Carlin and Wendover.
Fiber Optics
The fiber optic network extends from west of Carlin to Elko, Spring Creek
and Lamoille. There is also fiber connectivity all the way to Reno at an
(Optical Circuit) OC-48 rate of speed or 2.4 gigabit, (a gigabit is billions
of bits per second). This rate can be upgraded to an OC-192 if the need
arises. The local fiber optic network consists of redundant optical rings,
locally designed and implemented to protect the switching routes, and ultimately
the customer's service. These redundant rings will automatically switch
routing directions in case of a severed fiber.
Outstanding Service
According to Dan Hoover, engineering supervisor in the Mountain States Territory,
Frontier Communications works very closely with their customers to serve
individual needs and are always available to answer service availability
questions. They can design customer networks and provide quotes for local
customer required equipment depending on the specific customer needs. "With
the continual advancement in telecommunications technology, Frontier is
committed to providing the latest services and offerings available within
the marketplace," Hoover said.
For more information regarding telecommunications call 1.800.824.8856 or
contact the Nevada Telecommunications
Association at 775.827.0191.
Telecommunications
Structure Map for Nevada
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