SENATE BILL 108

54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2020

INTRODUCED BY

Michael Padilla

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO TRADE PRACTICES; AMENDING AND ENACTING SECTIONS OF THE DISTRIBUTED GENERATION DISCLOSURE ACT; REQUIRING A THIRD-PARTY OWNER TO FILE WITH THE COUNTY CLERK A NOTICE OF DISTRIBUTED ENERGY GENERATION SYSTEM OWNED BY THIRD-PARTY.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. A new section of the Distributed Generation Disclosure Act is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] THIRD-PARTY OWNER--NOTICE--FILING REQUIREMENTS.--

          A. No later than thirty days after a distributed energy generation system is energized, a third-party owner shall record an accurate and complete "notice of distributed energy generation system owned by third-party" in the office of the county clerk of the county in which the real property is situated. The third-party owner shall provide the property owner a copy of the filed notice.

          B. A third-party owner shall file a subsequent document extinguishing the notice within thirty days after the agreement between the third-party owner and property owner is voided, terminated, sold, assigned or transferred.  

          C. A notice of distributed energy generation system owned by third-party shall contain the following statements:

                (1) "Notice. This notice of distributed energy generation system owned by third-party is required to be filed by the third-party owner pursuant to New Mexico law. The above-referenced property is receiving part of its electric service from a distributed energy generation system owned and operated by the above-referenced third-party owner. The third-party owner provides electricity service to the property through the above-referenced agreement with the property owner.";

                (2) "Third-party owner's rights. The third-party owner owns the distributed energy generation system, collectively with all associated rights, privileges, assets, incentives, rebates, tax attributes and benefits arising from, relating to or attributable to the system. At all times during the term of the agreement, the system and the system interests shall remain the third-party owner's sole personal property and shall not be deemed or characterized as a "fixture" or any part of the "real property" as those terms may be defined by applicable law.";

                (3) "Effect of this notice. The third-party owner does not have a security interest or lien on the property. This notice shall not be construed as an encumbrance affecting title to the property. This notice shall not modify the character or classification of the distributed energy generation system or modify or change any provision of the third-party owner's agreement with the property owner. In the event of any conflict between the terms of this notice and the agreement, the agreement shall control."; and

                (4) "Transfer options. Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the agreement, if the property owner proposes to sell or transfer the property, the property owner shall provide the third-party owner with thirty days' written notice prior to the sale or transfer, including the name of the proposed property purchaser or transferee. If the property transferee will not assume the obligations under the agreement, or if the third-party owner determines that the property transferee does not qualify, then the property owner will be required to purchase the distributed energy generation system at a price set forth in the agreement or prepay all remaining payments under the agreement.".

          D. The attorney general may issue a form notice of distributed energy generation system owned by third-party that may be used by a third-party owner to satisfy the requirements of this section."

     SECTION 2. Section 57-31-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2017, Chapter 102, Section 2) is amended to read:

     "57-31-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Distributed Generation Disclosure Act:

          A. "annual percentage rate" means the cost of credit, expressed as a yearly rate, that relates the amount and timing of value received by the consumer to the amount and timing of payments made;

          B. "business day" means any day Monday through Friday, unless such day falls on a legal holiday, in which case "business day" means the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday;

          C. "buyer" means a person that purchases a distributed energy generation system from a seller or marketer and includes a power purchaser;

          D. "distributed energy generation system" means a device or system that is used to generate or store electricity, that has an electric delivery capacity, individually or in connection with other similar devices or systems, greater than one kilowatt or one kilowatt-hour, and that is used primarily for on-site consumption, but does not include an electric generator that is intended for occasional use;

          E. "energized" means that a distributed energy generation system is installed and operational for its intended purposes of generating or storing electricity;

          F. "interconnected" means that a distributed energy generation system is connected to the power grid and is able to transfer electricity to the power grid;

          G. "lessee" means a person that leases a distributed energy generation system from the owner of the distributed energy generation system;

          H. "person" means an individual person, corporation, trust, partnership, association, cooperative association, club, company, firm, joint venture or syndicate;

          I. "power purchaser" means a buyer that agrees to purchase the power generated by a distributed energy generation system from the owner of the distributed energy generation system;

          J. "renewable energy certificate" means a certificate or other record, in a format approved by the public regulation commission, that represents all the environmental attributes from one kilowatt-hour of electricity generation from a renewable energy resource; [and]

          K. "seller or marketer" means a person acting through its officers, employees, brokers or agents that markets, sells or solicits the sale or lease of distributed energy generation systems or the sale of power to a power purchaser or negotiates or enters into agreements for the sale or lease of distributed energy generation systems or the sale of power to a power purchaser; and

          L. "third-party owner" means a person that owns a distributed energy generation system installed on property owned by a power purchaser or lessee."

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