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.161989.1

HOUSE MEMORIAL 40

47

TH LEGISLATURE

- STATE OF NEW MEXICO -

SECOND SESSION

, 2006

INTRODUCED BY

Ben Lujan

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TO DIRECT THE

APPROPRIATE LEGISLATIVE INTERIM COMMITTEE TO CONDUCT A STUDY OF

THE ADEQUACY OF THE PROTECTION OF NEW MEXICO CONSUMER INTERESTS

WITH RESPECT TO CURRENT REGULATION OF GENERATION AND

TRANSMISSION COOPERATIVES.

WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 62-6-4 NMSA 1978, a

generation and transmission cooperative may propose rates to

the public regulation commission in the form of an advice

notice to be filed with the commission and served on the

generation and transmission company's member utilities; and

WHEREAS, the advice notice is not required to contain any

report by the generation and transmission cooperative of the

specific costs that justify the proposed rates; and

WHEREAS, the generation and transmission cooperative is

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.161989.1

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not required to provide any other cost of service information

to its member utilities or to the commission with respect to

the proposed rates; and

WHEREAS, the public regulation commission is not permitted

to conduct a hearing to review the rates proposed by a

generation and transmission cooperative unless three utilities

that are members of that cooperative file protests of the

proposed rates with the commission within twenty days of filing

the advice notice; and

WHEREAS, because hearings and reports with respect to

proposed rates are not often required of a generation and

transmission cooperative, member utilities cannot obtain any

cost of service information in a timely manner regarding the

reasons for the proposed rates; and

WHEREAS, the provision of reports by generation and

transmission cooperatives to the commission and to their member

utilities that contain cost information with respect to rates

proposed by the generation and transmission cooperatives might

promote an increased understanding among the commission members

and the member utilities of the reasoning for proposed rates;

and

WHEREAS, increased communication among generation and

transmission cooperatives and their member utilities might

reduce protests of rates that those cooperatives file with the

commission;

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.161989.1

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF

REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the New Mexico

legislative council be requested to direct the appropriate

legislative interim committee to conduct a study of the

adequacy of protection of New Mexico consumer interests with

respect to the current regulation of generation and

transmission cooperatives, which may include the exploration of

options to promote the provision of additional information to

the public regulation commission and to utilities that are

members of generation and transmission cooperatives regarding

the basis and justification for rates that those cooperatives

propose and the associated costs that they are intended to

offset; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be

transmitted to the chair of the public regulation commission

and to the co-chairs of the New Mexico legislative council.

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