The Public Regulation Commission has extraordinary power to reshape our State’s energy portfolio. It has the power to insist that PNM significantly expand its commitment to renewable energy. Unfortunately, to date the PRC has cravenly done PNM’s bidding, consistently voting to support PNM’s greedy and short-sighted insistence upon coal, gas and nuclear energy despite wind and solar options becoming far cheaper than coal, gas or nuclear energy. To read more about the PRC’s recent decision to acquiesce and approve PNM’s coal replacement plan, click here. To find out about PNM Rate Increase case and the vote to be held by the PRC on September 28, click here.
Retake Our Democracy would encourage you to contact all these commissioners and let them know how you feel about PNM, the PRC’s approval of the Coal Replacement Plan and its looming decision on PNM’s proposed rate case hike. While all but Commissioner Espinoza have regularly sided with PNM, the recent vote to unseat Karen Montoya has definitely gotten Commissioner’s attention. In your own words, tell the Commissioners that you do not approve of a $500M investment in San Juan coal, you do not want to invest in nuclear, and you do not approve of PNM’s arrogantly not even attempting to justify this rate hike. So please let them know you vote and you are paying attention to how they vote. For information on the PRC Commissioners and how you can contact them, see below. To view a map of the PRC Commission District boundaries click: New Mexico Public Regulation Commission New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. Please call and email each commissioner without telling them where you live. The four Commissioners not representing Santa Fe will discount or ignore you if they know you are from here. But that will not be evident from a voice mail or email.
There are three key points that are still to be decided:
1- Investment in PNMs purchase agreement for Palo Verde nuclear energy:
The PRC Hearing Examiner recommended a disallowance of costs for PNM’s nuclear purchase because PNM failed to meet its burden of proof and show that it (i) reasonably evaluated its decision against alternative resources and that its decisions regarding the nuclear purchase were cost effective (which is required by law); and (ii) PNM failed to adequately and timely notify the PRC of its decisions regarding Palo Verde nuclear. ($163 million was disallowed)
New Energy Economy’s Position: PRC should not change her recommendation to disallow costs because (i) none of the Commissioners attended the hearings or read the entire record, the Hearing Officer did and (ii) PNM did not do any financial economic analysis to show that its nuclear purchase was cost effective and (iii) The reason PNM chose to reinvest in nuclear is because it is the most expensive resource and the more the energy resource costs the more PNM shareholders make at our expense. (iv) The cost of PNM’s nuclear is $81/MW and will rise by 43% over the next twenty years. The cost PNM is charging Facebook for solar is $47/MW and will not change for the next twenty-five years! In other words PNM will give a major corporation a huge discount but charge you and I nearly double now and nearly triple by the end of the 25 years.
2- Balanced Draft Technology at San Juan coal:
The Hearing Examiner recommended a disallowance of costs for PNM’s purchase of balance draft technology at San Juan coal plant because PNMfailed to meet its burden of proof because PNM provided NO cost/benefit analysis to show that installation of this technology was a benefit to ratepayers. ($52 million was disallowed)
Our Position: PRC should not change her recommendation to disallow costs because (i) PNM has not provided any evidence that these costs were needed or cost effective and (ii) PNM chose to install this technology to gold plate – to increase costs at their coal plant to increase earnings for PNM shareholders not because there is a benefit to ratepayers and (iii) we don’t want any more investments in the San Juan coal plant! The $52 million disallowance is half of what it would cost to solarize the City of Santa Fe.
3- Re-investment in COAL at Four Corners:
Regarding PNM’s 15 year take-or-pay coal contract for $580 million the Hearing Examiner found that because PNM needs coal to operate the plant and because New Energy Economy provided no evidence that the 128% increase in cost was unreasonable that the costs are allowed. It is odd that the Hearing Examiner ok’d this because NEE hadn’t provided cost analysis to prove that there were cheaper alternatives, when the law states clearly that the burden of proof lies with PNM and they did NOTHING to demonstrate this is a wise investment.
New Energy Economy’s Position: PRC SHOULD change the Hearing Examiner’s recommendation to disallow half a billion in coal costs because (i) it is PNM’s burden of proof (not New Energy Economy’s) to show that the costs of the Four Corners coal contract are reasonable (ii) PNM did NO financial analysis to prove that the Four Corners coal contract costs are cost effective.
In your calls and emails please do not simply use the exact language above as then your input will be discounted. Make it come from you! thanks
Karen L. Montoya, Vice-Chair Commissioner – District 1 (voted out of office in June 2016, but still seated until January 2017. A consistent supporter of PNM.).
District 1 is essentially Albuquerque.
Cynthia B. Hall Commissioner – District 1
Cynthia.Hall@state.nm.us
1120 Paseo De Peralta
P.O. Box 1269
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504
(505) 827-8015
Patrick H. Lyons (A consistent supporter of PNM)
Commissioner – District 2. Essentially the entire eastern half of the state)
Patrick.Lyons@state.nm.us
1120 Paseo De Peralta
P.O. Box 1269
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504
(505) 827-4531
Valerie Espinoza– Chair (Consistent opponent to PNM. An ally. Thank her)
Commissioner – District 3 includes Santa Fe and then up the middle of the state to the Colorado border. See map above.
Valerie.Espinoza@state.nm.us
1120 Paseo De Peralta
P.O. Box 1269
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504
(505) 827-4533
Lynda Lovejoy (Consistent supporter of PNM)
Commissioner – District 4 the northwest corner of the state, including the San Juan plant
1120 Paseo De Peralta
P.O. Box 1269
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504
(505) 827-8019
Sandy Jones (more often than not, supports PNM, but subject to influence)
Commissioner – District 5 the southwest quarter of the state, including Las Cruces and Silver City
1120 Paseo De Peralta
P.O. Box 1269
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504
(505) 827-8020