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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Lujan, B.
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
2/21/07
HB 1030
SHORT TITLE Rural Electric Co-op Rate Changes
SB
ANALYST Earnest
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
NFI
NFI
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Public Regulation Commission (PRC)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 1030 provides that a protest to a rural electric cooperative rate change may be filed
with the Public Regulation Commission by the lesser of one percent of or 25 members of a
customer class of the co-op. Under current law, a protest may be lodged by one member.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
None identified.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
Current statute allows rural electric cooperatives (co-op) to change rates without a PRC hearing
and order if no protests are received co-op member-customers. The proposed bill changes the
number of required protests from one to “the lesser of one percent of or twenty-five members of
a customer class."
pg_0002
House Bill 1030 – Page
2
As proposed by this bill, for the commission to suspend the rates and conduct a hearing on the
proposed rate changes, filing of 25 residential member-customer protests would be needed for all
but to two co-ops.
In the last fifteen years approximately five co-op rate cases have been docketed upon the filing of
a protest. It is not anticipated the proposed change in statute would have any significant impact
on the PRC’s operation or workload.
BE/mt