HOUSE BILL 267
51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2013
INTRODUCED BY
James R.J. Strickler
AN ACT
RELATING TO UTILITIES; REQUIRING PUBLIC UTILITIES TO ACQUIRE AVAILABLE COST-EFFECTIVE AND ACHIEVABLE ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND LOAD MANAGEMENT RESOURCES; LIMITING PUBLIC UTILITY COST RECOVERY OPTIONS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO: SECTION 1. Section 62-17-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2005, Chapter 341, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:
"62-17-5. COMMISSION APPROVAL--ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND LOAD MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS--DISINCENTIVES.--
A. Pursuant to the findings and purpose of the Efficient Use of Energy Act, the commission shall consider public utility acquisition of cost-effective energy efficiency and load management resources to be in the public interest.
B. The commission shall direct public utilities to evaluate and implement cost-effective programs that reduce energy demand and consumption.
C. Before the commission approves an energy efficiency and load management program for a public utility, it must find that the portfolio of programs is cost-effective and designed to provide every affected customer class with the opportunity to participate and benefit economically. The commission shall determine the cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency and load management measures using the total resource cost test.
D. The commission shall act expeditiously on public utility requests for approval of energy efficiency or load management programs.
E. Public utilities shall obtain commission approval of energy efficiency and load management programs before they are implemented. Public utilities proposing new energy efficiency and load management programs shall, before seeking commission approval, solicit nonbinding recommendations on the design, implementation and use of third-party energy service contractors through competitive bidding on the programs from commission staff, the attorney general, the energy, minerals and natural resources department and other interested parties. The commission may for good cause require utilities to solicit competitive bids for energy efficiency and load management resources.
F. The commission shall, upon petition or its own motion, identify regulatory disincentives or barriers for public utility expenditures on energy efficiency and load management measures and ensure that they are removed in a manner that balances the public interest, consumers' interests and investors' interests. The commission shall also provide public utilities an opportunity to earn a profit on cost-effective energy efficiency and load management resource development that, with satisfactory program performance, is financially more attractive to the utility than supply-side utility resources.
G. Public utilities providing electricity and natural gas service to New Mexico customers shall, subject to commission approval, acquire [all] cost-effective and achievable energy efficiency and load management resources available in their service territories. This requirement, however, for public utilities providing electricity service, shall not be less than savings of five percent of 2005 total retail kilowatt-hour sales to New Mexico customers in calendar year 2014 and ten percent of 2005 total retail kilowatt-hour sales to New Mexico customers in 2020 as a result of energy efficiency and load management programs implemented starting in 2007.
H. A utility that determines it cannot achieve the minimum requirements established in Subsection G of this section shall report to the commission on why it cannot meet those requirements and shall propose alternative requirements based on acquiring [all] cost-effective and achievable energy efficiency and load management resources. If the commission determines, after hearing, that the minimum requirements of Subsection G of this section exceed the achievable amount of energy efficiency and load management available to the utility, the commission shall establish lower minimum energy savings requirements for the utility based on the maximum amount of energy efficiency and load management that it determines can be achieved."
SECTION 2. Section 62-17-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2005, Chapter 341, Section 6, as amended) is amended to read:
"62-17-6. COST RECOVERY.--
A. A public utility that undertakes cost-effective energy efficiency and load management programs shall have the option of recovering its prudent and reasonable costs along with commission-approved incentives for demand-side resources and load management programs implemented after the effective date of the Efficient Use of Energy Act through an approved tariff rider or in base rates, or by a combination of the two. Program costs and incentives may be deferred for future recovery through creation of a regulatory asset. The only limit to the tariff rider or customer impact for any utility customer is that it shall not exceed one percent of the customer's bill or seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) per year, whichever is less, without the customer's consent. Unless otherwise ordered by the commission, a tariff rider approved by the commission shall require language on customer bills explaining program benefits.
B. The tariff rider shall be applied on a monthly basis, unless otherwise allowed by the commission.
C. A tariff rider proposed by a public utility to fund approved energy efficiency and load management programs shall go into effect thirty days after filing, unless suspended by the commission for a period not to exceed one hundred eighty days. If the tariff rider is not approved or suspended within thirty days after filing, it shall be deemed approved as a matter of law. If the commission has not acted to approve or disapprove the tariff rider by the end of an ordered suspension period, it shall be deemed approved as a matter of law. The commission shall approve utility reconciliations of the tariff rider annually."
SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2013.
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