SENATE BILL 352

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

Stuart Ingle

AN ACT

RELATING TO UTILITIES; AMENDING A SECTION OF THE PUBLIC UTILITY ACT TO PROVIDE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RATES WITHOUT A CONDITION OF EXCESS CAPACITY.

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

     SECTION 1. Section 62-6-26 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1989, Chapter 5, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:

     "62-6-26. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RATES FOR GAS AND ELECTRIC UTILITIES--AUTHORIZATION.--

          A. The commission may approve or otherwise allow to become effective, as provided in Subsection B of this section, applications from utilities or persons subject to regulation pursuant to Subsection B of Section 62-6-4 NMSA 1978 or filings by cooperative utilities pursuant to Subsection F of Section 62-8-7 NMSA 1978, as appropriate, for special rates or tariffs in order to prevent the loss of customers, to encourage customers to expand present facilities and operations in New Mexico and to attract new customers where necessary or appropriate to promote economic development in New Mexico. Any such special rates or tariffs shall be designed so as to recover at least the incremental cost of providing service to such customers.

          B. The commission may approve or otherwise allow to become effective applications from utilities or persons subject to regulation pursuant to Subsection B of Section 62-6-4 NMSA 1978 and filings by cooperative utilities pursuant to Subsection F of Section 62-8-7 NMSA 1978 for economic development rates and rates designed to retain load for gas and electric utility customers. For purposes of this section and Section 62-8-6 NMSA 1978, economic development rates and rates designed to retain load are rates set at a level lower than the corresponding service rate for which a customer would otherwise qualify, but in no case lower than the incremental cost of providing service to such customer.

          [C. Economic development rates shall be approved or otherwise allowed to become effective for an electric utility or persons subject to regulation pursuant to Subsection B of Section 62-6-4 NMSA 1978 or filings by cooperative utilities pursuant to Subsection F of Section 62-8-7 NMSA 1978 only when the utility or the substantially full requirements supplier of the utility has excess capacity. For purposes of this section, "excess capacity" means the amount of electric generating and purchased power capacity available to the utility or such supplier that is greater than the utility's or such supplier's peak load plus a fixed percentage reserve margin set by the commission.]"

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