UTILITY ACCOUNTABILITY
Holding New Mexico Electric Utilities Accountable
to Ratepayers and Future Generations
New Energy Economy is recognized by our partners for our unique approach that combines targeted legal campaigns with public education and engagement that make complex energy and regulatory issues accessible to the public and opens up spaces for community participation and influence on energy decision-making. We intervene in regulatory cases at the Public Regulation Commission to advocate for outcomes that benefit the people and the planet.
Our Campaigns for Utility Accountability
PNM's 2023 rate case will include final decisions on the prudence of Four Corners investments, San Juan rate credit delays and Palo Verde leases and decommissioning costs. PNM seeks to make ratepayers pay for hundreds of millions they unwisely spent on extending the life of coal and nuclear plants, and on top of that they have the gall to seek an increased Return on Equity even as their business risks have decreased.
PNM invested more than $1B of ratepayer money in the Four Corners Power Plant, investments that were found imprudent by PRC Hearing Examiner. NEE is fighting to protect ratepayers from paying $300M in undepreciated assets and prevent a "sale" of the coal plant that doesn't shut it down.
READ more about PNM's imprudent investments and illegal abandonment application
New Energy Economy supported the CCAE 100% renewable replacement power and battery storage option for the San Juan power plant. We won!
Read more about the San Juan Replacement Power campaign
In August New Energy Economy intervened at the PRC in PNM's application for a "rate adjustment mechanism." PNM sought to "decouple" their revenue from the actual energy levels we consume, seeking guaranteed profit no matter how much we succeed in our efforts to cutdown our electricity use. After facing opposition PNM withdrew their application.
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In 2019 the New Mexico Legislature passed an energy omnibus bill that combined a Renewable Portfolio Standards with a financial mechanism known as securitization. But the Energy Transition Act also included clauses that, if left unchanged, will charge struggling New Mexicans for any undepreciated investments and decommissioning ("clean-up") costs the monopoly utilities propose, with no oversight from the regulatory agency.
Read more about NEE's fight to protect ratepayers and amend the flawed law
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In March when the pandemic hit the Public Regulation Commission passed a utility shutoff moratorium to protect consumers. NEE organized a coalition to advocate an extension of the moratorium for the duration of the Governor's Emergency Orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It both prohibits the discontinuation of residential customer utility service and waives late fees on residential accounts.
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