The well-funded group opposing a major energy market restructuring ballot question has gone up with its first ad in what promises to be one of the most expensive campaigns on the 2018 ballot.

The “Coalition to Defeat Question 3,” a PAC formed in February opposing the Energy Choice Initiative, launched its first television ad over the weekend warning that the proposed constitutional amendment would raise power prices and “lock this drastic change into our state constitution.”

The ad, which is running digitally and on television, is in addition to the PAC’s initial $12 million advertising reservation, which it placed earlier in April. The group is supported by several elected officials and businesses including NV Energy, and has pledged to spend up to $30 million to defeat the ballot question.

The ad claims that so-called “deregulated” states have on average 30 percent higher residential electric rates, and that California’s overall rates are “nearly double” that of Nevada. Supporters of the ballot measure — largely funded by the Las Vegas Sands and data center giant Switch — say that comparison is inaccurate, as energy prices vary based on geographic area and other factors outside of whether the market is monopoly-controlled or is a competitive retail system.

"NV Energy has been lying about Question 3 for months and those lies have continued now that they have begun spending $30 million in ratepayer money on slick TV ads, all in an attempt to deny Nevadans the right to simply choose their energy provider," Yes on 3 spokesperson Bradley Mayer said.

The PAC is also sending out a direct mail literature that includes a letter warning about the “risky” ballot measure and signed by representatives of AARP Nevada, the Nevada Association of Public Safety Officers and the Professional Firefighters of Nevada.

The Energy Choice Initiative, which passed by 72 to 28 percent on the 2016 ballot, would require Nevada by 2023 to transition from a monopoly-controlled market where one entity generally controls all generation, transmission and the retail sale of electricity to one where multiple businesses could generate and sell electricity.

No on 3 mailer by Riley Snyder on Scribd

Disclosure: Switch and NV Energy have donated to The Nevada Independent. You can see a full list of donors here.

Updated at 12:08 p.m. to include a statement from the Yes on 3 campaign.