New Mexico

Restructuring Overview  |  Restructuring Resources  |  Consumer Protection

Legislation Passed
Electric Y Gas N

1999, SB 428; Electric Utility Industry Restructuring Act

2001, SB 266; Delays retail competition until 2007.

2003, SB 718; Repeals the Electric Utility Industry Restructuring Act of 1999

Electric
Overview

• 2001: Legislation delays competition for public schools, colleges and universities, small businesses and residential customers until January 2007, rather than January 2002. Large industrial customers and others can start shopping for their electric suppliers in July 2007.
• The major support for the legislation came as a result of the deregulation experiences in California. To avoid similar problems in New Mexico, the legislation allows utilities to immediately start building or acquiring new unregulated power plants for selling electricity in the wholesale market.
• February 2003: The Public Regulation Commission (PRC) approved a stipulation that reduced rates for most customer classes by 4% effective September 1, 2003, and another 2.5% reduction two years latter. The rate in 2005 would be frozen until January 1, 2008. The Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) agreed not to try to recover about $24.8 million in transition costs. The stipulation was signed by PNM, the New Mexico Attorney General, the New Mexico Industrial Consumers, the City of Albuquerque, the University of New Mexico, and the PRC. The United States Executive Agencies, El Paso Electric Company, Texas-New Mexico Power Company and Southwestern Public Service Company did not sign the stipulation, but they do not oppose it.
• April 2003: Legislation repeals the 1999 restructuring law, which would have opened the state’s electricity markets to competition.

Choice Status

• Customer choice for residential customers, originally scheduled for 2002, has been delayed until 2007.

Natural Gas
Overview

• New Mexico has allowed unbundled gas service for all consumers since the late 1980s. However, virtually all residential customers still purchase their gas from local distribution companies, in large part because marketers have been unable to compete with the LDCs' prices. A customer choice pilot program by the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) was approved by the New Mexico Public Utility Commission in August 1997. The program, "EnergyWise Options" and "Gas Choice Program," offers PNM's 400,000 customers a choice of gas suppliers with deliveries. Even after the Public Regulation Commission, formerly the Public Utility Commission, encouraged marketers to advertise, customers still did not switch suppliers.

Choice Status

• All customers in the state may choose unbundled natural gas service. However, all residential customers still purchase their gas from local distribution companies (LDCs), in large part because marketers have been unable to compete with the LDCs' prices.

Suppliers
www.nmprc.state.nm.us/regent.htm

State Restructuring Resources

Utility Regulatory Commission
New Mexico Public Regulation Commission
505-827-6940
www.nmprc.state.nm.us/

Consumer Relations Division
1-800-663-9782
www.nmprc.state.nm.us/consumers/crdutility.htm

Consumer advocate
Consumer Protection Division
Office of Attorney General
505-827-6010
http://www.ago.state.nm.us

Grassroots groups
ACORN
505-244-1086
www.acorn.org
ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is the nation's largest community organization of low- and moderate-income families. Energy is among its priorities. The group has worked in New Mexico to provide outreach to LIHEAP-eligible customers, resulting in 400 qualified households and preventing the power to 60 households from being shut off.

Consumer Protection

Disconnection policy

• A utility is entitled to disconnect service if a customer fails to:

1. pay the bill or enter into a payment arrangement;
2. comply with payment arrangements;
3. make the meter accessible for reading purposes; or
4. if a customer violates the rules about the use of service in a way that interferes with the service of others or the operation of nonstandard equipment.

• If the customer has applied for and has been granted financial assistance from an agency for full payment of a bill, utility service cannot be disconnected for nonpayment of that bill between November 15 and March 15. If financial assistance covers only a portion of the bill, and the customer has made other payment arrangements before the date of disconnection, utility service will not be disconnected. In both cases, the utility must receive notice from the payment-assistance agency before disconnection.
• Utilities cannot disconnect residential natural gas or electric service to households with seriously or chronically ill members at any time if the customers receives medical certification from a medical professional, the New Mexico Human Services Department or a charitable organization that the customers qualifies for assistance, and/or agrees to a deferred payment agreement.
• If the customer complies with the requirements necessary to have the service reconnected, electric service will be reconnected at least by the next regular business day.
• If the reconnect order is placed after normal working hours, the customer must pay a reconnection fee.

Deferred payments

• Utilities cannot disconnect a customer who has agreed and adheres to a deferred payment plan.

Deposits/fees

• If the customer is required to pay a deposit, the deposit will be one-sixth (two months) of the estimated annual billing from the previous history of the account. The deposit must be paid before the service is activated. All deposits earn interest at an annual rate established by the Commission.
• The utility is entitled to impose a new or an additional deposit on existing accounts if:

1. there is no deposit on the customer’s account;
2. the customer’s has been delinquent three times over a 12-month period; or
3. the customer’s service was disconnected for nonpayment.

• Rather than paying the deposit, the customer may furnish the utility with a satisfactory written guarantee to secure payment of the bills. The customer also has the option of paying the outstanding balance immediately and all the current and future bills by the due date. This option may be used only once in a 12-month period.
• An additional deposit may be required if, after two billing periods, the actual bill is twice the amount of the estimated billings used to determine the deposit amount and a termination notice has been issued. The additional deposit must be paid within 10 days after a termination notice is sent.
• If the customer’s service has been disconnected for nonpayment and there is no deposit on the account, s/he is required to either pay a deposit or secure the deposit with a letter of guarantee from a qualified co-signer.
• After one year from the date the service started, if there have been no more than two delinquent bills, service has not been disconnected for nonpayment, and the customer is not delinquent on the current bill, the deposit and interest will be refunded to the customer. Otherwise, the deposit will be held and will continue to draw interest. The customer may request that interest on the deposit be refunded annually.

Supplier licensing

• To obtain a license, competitive power suppliers must provide proof of financial integrity and adequate supply, post a bond, agree to follow Commission rules, and submit a proposal for renewable energy supply service.

Slamming

• The Electric Utility Industry Restructuring Act of 1999 makes it unlawful for any person to:

1. change, direct another person to change or participate in processing a change in a customer's supply service provider without the customer's authorization; or
2. charge, direct another person to charge or participate in processing a charge for any product or service through a customer's public utility bill for any unregulated service without the customer's authorization.

Dispute resolution

• Written procedure is required. A utility must establish a dispute resolution procedure to address complaints alleging violations.
• The dispute resolution procedure must, at a minimum, designate a person to investigate the complaint and communicate the results of the investigation to the complainant in writing within 30 days after the complaint was received. The response must include a description of any action taken and the complainant's right to file a complaint with the Commission.
• The utility must maintain for four years a log of all resolved and pending complaints. The log is subject to Commission review.

Discrimination/redlining

• A utility must offer all regulated services, including any discount, rebate or fee waiver, to all eligible customers and competitive power suppliers simultaneously and in a non-discriminatory manner.

Advertising/marketing/trade practices

• No public utility or affiliate providing competitive service can engage in joint advertising or marketing.
• No public utility can offer or give its competitive supplier affiliate advertising space in billing envelopes or any other form of written customer communication, unless the same service is made available in a non-discriminatory manner to all competitors.
• No public utility can promote its affiliate providing competitive service or any product or service offered by its affiliate.

Privacy

• Except as required by law, no public utility can disclose any individual customer information to any person, including an affiliate providing competitive service, without the customer’s prior affirmative written consent.
• A public utility must obtain Commission approval of a written consent form to be used for obtaining a customer’s consent to disclose customer information. The form must contain in clear and conspicuous language a full and complete description of the scope of the consent requested and the accounts covered by the consent. The form must be printed in a clearly legible 12-point or larger font and must be signed by the customer before consent is effective.
• Except as required by law, no public utility may disclose any aggregated customer information to any person, including an affiliate providing competitive service, unless the same information is made available on the same basis and in the same timeframe to all competitors.
• Except as required by law, a public utility cannot disclose any individual or aggregated customer information acquired from a competitive power supplier, other than information that is generally publicly available, without the written consent of the competitive power supplier.
• Customers must have access to their own individual customer information.