It’s official: Warren Buffett is in the Nevada energy business

Nati Harnik / AP

In this Nov. 14, 2011, photo, billionaire investor Warren Buffett speaks in Omaha, Neb., at an event to raise money for the Girls Inc. charity organization.

Billionaire Warren Buffett has completed his purchase of NV Energy, whose chief executive is retiring and being replaced by a Buffett underling.

MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., owned by Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, closed its acquisition of Nevada’s main electric utility today, at least a few weeks ahead of schedule.

The deal includes a $20 million credit for NV Energy customers that will be applied within the next 30 days. Proposed by state regulators, the refund amounts to $13 for Las Vegas-area electric customers.

Simultaneously, NV Energy CEO Michael Yackira announced today that he will retire in June 2014 from the Las Vegas-based power company. Paul Caudill, who had been president of a MidAmerican subsidiary, is now the president of NV Energy and will work with Yackira and other executives as part of an “executive transition,” according to a news release.

MidAmerican reached a deal in late May to buy NV Energy for $23.75 cash per share, or about $5.6 billion. Including debt, the deal is valued at $10 billion.

When the deal was announced, executives said the sale would close in the first quarter of 2014. What’s more, Yackira said at the time that he expected to remain CEO alongside other existing executives at NV Energy, which serves 90 percent of Nevada’s population.

Yackira was not available for comment tonight, company spokeswoman Jennifer Schuricht said.

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