But it did say that if NV Energy made the deduction, the utility could recoup 105 percent of the cost of doing so. The proposal would have led to a 6 cent rate hike per month for consumers, according to a fiscal note in the bill. Consumer advocates say the hike may have amounted to 50 cents per month, but that the savings that ratepayers stood to gain in the long term would have exceeded the estimated bump in power bills. If NV Energy cut 1 percent, the savings would equal the annual use of electricity consumed by 25,000 homes annually in Nevada, according to the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, a nonpartisan think tank devoted to the issue. That would result in a savings of more than $450 million in ratepayers' utility bills by the end of the decade, according to the group. "It's like losing body fat but gaining muscle," said Tom Polikalas, a lobbyist for SWEEP. NV Energy opposed the legislation but said it was planning to spend more than it ever has on efficiency programs in the upcoming year.