Several PRC members are concerned that Electric/Gas utilities are not telling customers that those with income issues have the ability to not pay their bills for several more months.

I am personally pleased that some PRC commissioners want to make sure rate payers are not cut off without due notice and the chance to create payment plans if they have lost their job or have financial problems.

I have been in Contact with PNM, Eric Chavez in Corporate Communications, and will share the email:

PNM believes strongly that Smart Meters provide consumers with choices on how they use energy and are a vital part of a smart gird; however, because we are still in the middle of a merger with Avangrid, we are still separate companies and aren’t able to comment on their plans for smart meters. Once the merger is complete, we hope to be able to give more information on that topic.

A smart meter is an electronic device that records information such as consumption of electric energy, voltage levels, current, and power factor. Smart meters communicate the information to the consumer for greater clarity of consumption behavior, and electricity suppliers for system monitoring and customer billing. Smart meters typically record energy near real-time, and report regularly, short intervals throughout the day.^[7] Smart meters enable two-way communication between the meter and the central system. Such an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) differs from automatic meter reading (AMR) in that it enables two-way communication between the meter and the supplier. Communications from the meter to the network may be wireless, or via fixed wired connections such as power line carrier (PLC). INFO FROM WIKIPEDIA

For batteries, we believe that they are an integral part of an environmentally friendly grid, but there must be other technologies and resources to achieve reliable, affordable green energy. Current battery technology is 4-6 hours. The recent events in Texas reminded us that we would need storage capabilities that can last 4-5 days, so while we are hopeful battery technology can get there, we must continue to look at all resources and technologies as we deal with the extreme weather events caused by climate change.

PNM fully supports customer-owned solar. There currently 23,572 residential customers that are connected to their own solar. Together, these customers produce a total of 23.7MW of energy.

While excess power created by customer’s solar panels can be pushed back onto the grid, PNM does not rely on that for grid support. If excess power is generated, that customer will earn a credit or rollover on their bill.

While PNM serves the ABQ area and other urban parts of the state, with about 530, 000 clients, much of NM (80%) is rural and served by Electric Co Ops with around 210,000 customers.

The mission of the New Mexico Rural Electric Cooperative Association
is to strengthen, support, unify, and represent Cooperative member
interests at the local, state, and national levels.

Organized in 1944 and headquartered in Santa Fe, the New Mexico Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NMRECA) represents the interest of the state's electric cooperatives who are members of NMRECA and their members through actively working to protect cooperative interests before regulatory, political and governmental bodies as well as the general public; administering the New Mexico Rural Electric Self-Insurer’s Fund, a workers’ compensation fund owned by New Mexico’s rural electric cooperatives who are members of NMRECA; and coordinating specialized training for its members.

The New Mexico Rural Electric Cooperative Association assists in arranging training programs for directors, managers and employees with outside agencies and consultants. NMRECA provides advocacy and general communications through newsletters, directories, websites, the annual Legislative Almanac, and its monthly magazine, enchantment, which give New Mexico’s electric cooperatives, who are members of NMRECA, a united forum
to communicate with their members.

THIS WEEK, I SPOKE WITH SOCORRO ELECTRIC COOP'S BOARD CHAIR AND GENERAL MANAGER AS WELL AS THEIR LEGAL COUNSEL LORNA WIGGINS

THEY ADDED SMART METERS AND WILL IMPLEMENT WHEN THE SOFTWARE IS IN PLACE THIS YEAR. SOCORRO IS A DISTRIBUTOR OF POWER WHICH THEY BUY FROM TRISTATE ELECTRIC. TRISTATE IS MOVING TO RENEWABLE POWER AND WILL BE 50% BY 2024 OR HIGHER THAN THE NM ETA GOALS. NO TRISTATE ELECTRIC GENERATION IN NM IS COAL POWERED.

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