New Mexico Supreme Court denies $5.2 million worth of electricity rate increases
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – The New Mexico Supreme Court has made a decision on a case over a rate rider that would have let the Southwestern Public Service Co. collect more than $5 million from customers over three years.
The electricity rates in the state are overseen by the Public Regulation Commission (PRC). In 2021, Southwestern Public Service Co. asked the PRC for permission to charge customers a rate rider (essentially an extra fee) in order to cover the cost of providing more electricity from renewable sources, rather than fossil fuels.
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New Mexico has been pushing utilities to produce more renewable energy – in fact, it’s required by law. However, the PRC denied the request from Southwestern Public Service Co., arguing that they offered “no evidence of any firm plans to acquire or produce any additional renewable energy” with the funds they would have collected.
Now, the state’s supreme court has weighed in on the debate. In a recent opinion, the court says the PRC was correct in denying the utility’s plan to access financial incentives. The court argued that the law was set up to help incentivize a transition to clean energy, but Southwestern Public Service Co.’s plan would not have led to additional renewable energy production.
