New Mexico Register / Volume XXXII, Issue 9 /May 4, 2021
TITLE
17 PUBLIC UTILITIES AND
UTILITY SERVICES
CHAPTER
9 ELECTRIC SERVICES
PART
572 RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
17.9.572.1 ISSUING AGENCY: New Mexico Public
Regulation Commission.
[17.9.572.1 NMAC - Rp. 17.9.572.1
NMAC, 5/4/2021]
17.9.572.2 SCOPE:
This rule applies to all electric
investor-owned public utilities under the commission’s jurisdiction.
[17.9.572.2 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.572.2
NMAC, 5/4/2021]
17.9.572.3 STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Sections 62-13-13.1,
62-16-3, 62-16-4. 62-16-5. 62-16-6, 62-16-7, 62-16-8 and 62-16-9 NMSA 1978.
[17.9.572.3 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.572.3
NMAC, 5/4/2021]
17.9.572.4 DURATION: Permanent.
[17.9.572.4 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.572.4
NMAC, 5/4/2021]
17.9.572.5 EFFECTIVE DATE: May 4, 2021, unless
a later date is cited at the end of a section.
[17.9.572.5 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.572.5
NMAC, 5/4/2021]
17.9.572.6 OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this
rule is to implement the Renewable Energy Act Section 62-16-1, et seq. NMSA
1978 (2019), and to bring significant economic development and environmental
benefits to New Mexico.
[17.9.572.6 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.572.6
NMAC, 5/4/2021]
17.9.572.7 DEFINITIONS: Unless otherwise
specified, as used in this rule:
A. Definitions beginning with “A”: [RESERVED]
B. Definitions beginning
with “B”: [RESERVED]
C. Definitions
beginning with “C”: [RESERVED]
D. Definitions beginning with “D”: [RESERVED]
E. Definitions beginning with “E”: emissions means all emissions regulated by state or federal authorities,
including but not limited to all criteria pollutants and hazardous air
pollutants; methane; mercury; and carbon dioxide (CO2).
F. Definitions beginning
with “F”: financial incentive means money or additional earnings that a public utility is
authorized to collect from ratepayers by the commission or capital investment
opportunities to encourage certain behaviors or actions that would not
otherwise have occurred in order to further the outcomes described Section
62-16-4 NMSA 1978 (2019). The financial
incentive, or monetary benefit, motivates certain behaviors or actions.
G. Definitions beginning with “G”:
greenhouse gas emissions means emissions of gases including carbon dioxide, methane,
nitrous oxide, fluorinated gases, or other gases that trap heat in the atmosphere.
H. Definitions beginning with “H”:
[RESERVED]
I. Definitions beginning with “I”:
IRP
means integrated resource plan.
J. Definitions beginning with “J”:
[RESERVED]
K. Definitions beginning with “K”:
[RESERVED]
L. Definitions beginning with “L”:
[RESERVED]
M. Definitions beginning with “M”:
[RESERVED]
N. Definitions beginning with “N”:
[RESERVED]
O. Definitions beginning with “O”:
[RESERVED]
P. Definitions beginning with “P”:
(1) plan year means the calendar year for which approval is being sought;
(2) plan
year total retail energy sales means retail energy sales in kWh projected
for the plan year adjusted for projected energy efficiency reductions based on
approved energy efficiency and load management programs in effect at the time
of the filing, less energy sales to voluntary program participants under
Section 62-16-7 NMSA 1978;
(3) political
subdivision of the state means a division of the state made by proper
authorities thereof, acting within their constitutional powers, for purpose of
carrying out a portion of those functions of the state which by long usage and
inherent necessities of government have always been regarded as public;
(4) procure or procurement means a
competitive process conducted by an investor-owned electric utility for
soliciting and evaluating purchased power, facility self-build or facility
build-transfer options as proposals for any new, additional or amended
renewable energy resource, including but not limited to, instructions to
bidders, bid specifications, conditions, forms or other requirements included
in a request for proposals and all methods, practices and assumptions used by
an investor-owned electric utility to model or evaluate such proposals or to negotiate
with bidders, in order to generate or purchase any renewable energy resource or
to commit to generate or purchase any renewable energy resource;
(5) public utility means investor-owned
electric utility certified by the commission to provide retail electric service
in New Mexico pursuant to the Public Utility Act and does not include rural
electric cooperatives or municipalities.
Q. Definitions beginning with “Q.”: [RESERVED]
R. Definitions beginning with “R”:
(1) reasonable cost threshold (RCT) means an average annual levelized cost of $60.00 per
megawatt-hour at the point of interconnection of the renewable energy resource
with the transmission systems, adjusted for inflation after 2020;
(2) renewable
energy means electric energy generated by use of renewable energy resources
and delivered to a public utility;
(3) renewable energy certificate (REC)
means a certificate or other record, in a format approved by the commission,
that represents all the environmental attributes from one megawatt-hour of
electricity generated from renewable energy delivered to a public utility and
assigned to its New Mexico customers;
(4) renewable energy resource means the following energy resources with or without
energy storage:
(a) solar,
wind, and geothermal;
(b) hydropower
facilities brought in service on or after July 1, 2007;
(c) biomass
resources, limited to agriculture of animal waste, small diameter timber, not
to exceed eight inches, salt cedar and other phreatophyte or woody vegetation
removed from river basins or watersheds in New Mexico: provided that these
resources are from facilities certified by the energy, minerals and natural
resources department to:
(i) be of
appropriate scale to have sustainable feedstock in the near vicinity;
(ii) have
zero life cycle carbon emissions; and
(iii) meet
scientifically determined restoration, sustainability and soil nutrient
principles;
(d) fuel
cells that do not use fossil fuels to create electricity; and
(e) landfill
gas and anaerobically digested waste biogas.
(5) renewable portfolio standard (RPS) means
the minimum percentage of retail sales of electricity by a public utility to
electric consumers in New Mexico that is required by the Renewable Energy Act
to be from renewable energy.
(6) renewable
purchased power agreement means an agreement that binds an entity
generating power from renewable energy resources to provide power at a
specified price, for a specified term, and binds the purchaser to that price.
S. Definitions beginning with “S”: [RESERVED]
T. Definitions beginning with “T”: [RESERVED]
U. Definitions beginning with “U”: [RESERVED]
V. Definitions beginning with “V”: [RESERVED]
W. Definitions beginning with “W”: WREGIS means
the western renewable energy generation information system.
X. Definitions beginning with “X”: [RESERVED]
Y. Definitions beginning with “Y”: [RESERVED]
Z. Definitions beginning with “Z”:
(1) zero carbon resource means an electricity generation resource that emits no
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, or that reduces methane emitted into the
atmosphere in an amount equal to no less than one-tenth of the tons of carbon
dioxide emitted into the atmosphere, as a result of electricity production;
(2) zero
carbon resource standard means providing New Mexico public utility
customers with electricity generated from one hundred percent zero carbon
resources.
[17.9.572.7 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.572.7
NMAC, 5/4/2021]
17.9.572.8 LIBERAL CONSTRUCTION: This rule shall be
liberally construed to carry out its intended purposes. If any provision of this rule, or the
application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the
remainder of the rule, or the application of such provision to other persons or
circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.
[17.9.572.8 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.572.8
NMAC, 5/4/2021]
17.9.572.9 RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER COMMISSION
RULES:
Unless otherwise specified, this rule does not supersede any other rule
of the commission but supplements rules applying to public utilities.
[17.9.572.9 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.572.9
NMAC, 5/4/2021]
17.9.572.10 RENEWABLE PORTFOLIO STANDARD:
A. Each
public utility must develop an annual Renewable Energy Act plan to comply with the
renewable portfolio standard during the plan year. The plan shall demonstrate reasonable and
consistent progress toward meeting the renewable portfolio standard to be
effective following the end of the plan year.
Renewable energy resources that are in a public utility’s electric
energy supply portfolio on July 1, 2004 shall be counted in determining
compliance with this rule. However,
renewable energy sold to customers through a voluntary renewable energy program
tariff approved by the commission shall not be counted in determining
compliance with this rule. Other factors
being equal, preference shall be given to renewable energy generated in New
Mexico.
B. Renewable portfolio standards: For public utilities other than rural
electric cooperatives and municipalities, requirements of the renewable
portfolio standard are:
(1) no later
than January 1, 2015, renewable energy shall comprise no less than fifteen
percent of each public utility’s total retail sales to New Mexico customers;
(2) no later than
January 1, 2020, renewable energy shall comprise no less than twenty percent of
each public total retail sales to New Mexico customers;
(3) no
later than January 1, 2025, renewable energy shall comprise no less than forty
percent of each public utility’s total retail sales to New Mexico customers;
(4) no
later than January 1, 2030, renewable energy shall comprise no less than fifty
percent of each public utility’s total retail sales to New Mexico customers;
(5) no
later than January 1, 2040, renewable energy resources shall supply no less
than eighty percent of all retail sales of electricity in New Mexico, provided
that compliance with this standard until December 31, 2047 shall not require
the public utility to displace zero carbon resources in the utility’s
generation portfolio as of June 14, 2019; and
(6) no
later than January 1, 2045, zero carbon resources shall supply one hundred
percent of all retail sales of electricity in New Mexico. Reasonable and consistent progress shall be
made over time toward this requirement.
C. Demonstration of compliance: In accordance with
Section 62-16-5 NMSA 1978 (2019):
(1) compliance
with the renewable portfolio standard is demonstrated by the retirement of
renewable energy certificates, provided that the associated renewable energy is
delivered to the public utility and assigned to the public utility’s New Mexico
customers; and
(2) a public
utility shall not retire renewable energy certificates associated with
renewable energy from generation resources for which it has traded, sold or
transferred the associated renewable energy certificate for purposes of
compliance with the renewable portfolio standard.
[17.9.572.10 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.572.10
NMAC, 5/4/2021]
17.9.572.11 COMMISSION
ADMINISTRATION OF RPS AND ZERO CARBON STANDARDS: After consultation
with the department of environment, the commission may not approve a public
utility’s annual Renewable Energy Act plan that result in material increases to
greenhouse gas emissions from entities not subject to commission oversight and
regulation.
[17.9.572.11 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.572.11
NMAC, 5/4/2021]
17.9.572.12 REASONABLE COST THRESHOLD:
A. The
reasonable cost threshold is a customer protection mechanism that limits the
customer bill impact resulting from annual Renewable Energy Act plans.
B. The
reasonable cost threshold in any plan year is an annual average levelized cost
of $60.00 per megawatt-hour at the point of interconnection of the renewable
energy resource with the transmission system, adjusted for inflation starting
in 2021 by the amount of the cumulative increase change in the consumer price
index, urban, all items, published by the bureau of labor statistics between
January 1 of the year prior to the procurement plan year and January 1 of the
procurement plan year. Each public
utility shall include in its annual Renewable Energy Act plan a reasonable cost
threshold analysis by procurement, existing or proposed, for the plan year for
which it seeks commission approval. This
analysis should show how each procurement compares for that plan year with the
inflation adjusted reasonable cost threshold.
C. If,
in any given year, a public utility determines that the average annual
levelized cost of renewable energy that would need to be procured or generated
for purposes of compliance with the renewable portfolio standard would be
greater than the reasonable cost threshold, the public utility shall not be
required to incur that excess cost; provided that the existence of this
condition excusing performance under the renewable portfolio standard in any
given year shall not operate to delay compliance with the renewable portfolio
standard in subsequent years. The
provisions of this rule do preclude a public utility from accepting a project
with a cost that would exceed the reasonable cost threshold. When a public utility can generate or procure
renewable energy resources at or below the reasonable cost threshold, it shall
be required to do so to the extent necessary to meet the applicable renewable
portfolio standard. To the extent a
procurement is greater than the reasonable cost threshold and results in excess
costs, the public utility shall explain in detail why the public utility cannot
procure renewable energy resources at a cost less than or equal to the reasonable
cost threshold along with a demonstration of the public utility’s efforts to
obtain to procure renewable energy resources at or below the reasonable cost
threshold.
D. A public utility that believes its procurement
will exceed the reasonable cost threshold may file with the commission a
request for waiver of the renewable portfolio standard for the applicable plan
year. The waiver request shall:
(1) explain
in detail why the public utility cannot procure resources at a cost less than
the reasonable cost threshold;
(2) include
an explanation and evidence of all efforts the public utility undertook to
procure resources at a cost within the reasonable cost threshold; and
(3) be
deemed granted if not acted upon within 60 days of the date the waiver request
was filed.
[17.9.572.12 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.572.12
NMAC, 5/4/2021]
17.9.572.13 RESOURCE SELECTION: The utility shall
select resources to satisfy the renewable portfolio standard through a competitive
resource selection process that includes opportunities for bidders to propose
purchased power, facility self-build or facility build-transfer options. The utility shall determine all commercially
available resources available through a competitive procurement process that
are necessary to make reasonable and consistent progress toward the renewable
portfolio standards and the zero-carbon standard. The utility shall, at a minimum, use the net
present value methodology to identify the costs of a proposed new renewable
energy resource necessary to satisfy the renewable portfolio standard. The
utility may propose additional methodologies to identify the costs of a
proposed new renewable energy resource.
[17.9.572.13 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.572.13
NMAC, 5/4/2021]
17.9.572.14 ANNUAL RENEWABLE ENERGY ACT PLAN: An annual Renewable
Energy Act plan shall include plan year and next plan year data. The plan year shall be presented for
commission approval and the next plan year shall be presented for informational
purposes.
A. On
or before July 1 of each year, each public utility must file with the
commission an annual Renewable Energy Act plan.
The filing schedule shall be staggered, as
follows, with each of the investor-owned utility filings occuring one month
apart, the last filing to be made July 1
of each year. The utilities shall
file alphabetically each year (el paso electric company shall file on May 1;
public service company of New Mexico shall file on June 1; and southwestern
public service company shall file on July 1 each year).
B. The
annual Renewable Energy Act plan is to include:
(1) testimony
and exhibits providing a full explanation of the utility’s determination of the
plan year and next plan year renewable portfolio standard and reasonable cost
threshold;
(2) the cost of
procurement in the plan year and the next plan year for all new renewable
energy resources required to comply with the renewable portfolio standard
selected by the utility pursuant to 17.9.572.10 NMAC;
(3) the
amount of renewable energy the public utility plans to provide in the plan year
and the next plan year required to comply with the renewable portfolio
standard;
(4) testimony
and exhibits demonstrating how the cost and amount specified in Paragraphs (2)
and (3) of this subsection were determined;
(5) testimony
and exhibits demonstrating the plan year and next plan year procurement amounts
and costs expected to be recovered by the utility;
(6) the capital,
operating and fuel costs on a per-megawatt-hour basis during the preceding
calendar year of each nonrenewable generation resource rate-base by the
utility, or dedicated to the utility through a power purchase agreement of one
year or longer, and the nonrenewable generation resources’ carbon dioxide
emissions on a per-megawatt-hour basis during that same year;
(7) testimony
and exhibits demonstrating the plan year and next plan year procurement amounts
and costs expected to be recovered by the utility if limited by the reasonable
cost threshold;
(8) testimony
demonstrating that the cost of the proposed procurement is reasonable compared
with the price of electricity from renewable resources in the bids received by
the public utility to recent prices for comparable energy resources elsewhere
in the southwestern united states;
(9) testimony
regarding strategies used to minimize costs of renewable energy integration,
including location, diversity, balancing area activity, demand-side management,
rate design and load management;
(10) testimony
demonstrating that the portfolio procurement plan is consistent with the
integrated resource plan and explaining any material differences;
(11) testimony
demonstrating that acceptable system reliability will be maintained with the
proposed new renewable resource additions;
(12) information,
including exhibits, as applicable, that demonstrates that the proposed
procurement was the result of a competitive procurement that included
opportunities for bidders to propose purchased power, facility self-build or
facility build–transfer options;
(13) demonstration
that the plan is otherwise in the public interest, considering factors such as
overall cost and economic development opportunities;
(14) testimony
demonstrating consistency with the last filed IRP and if not explain why it is
inconsistent; and
(15) any other information the commission
may deem necessary.
C. In addition
to electronically filing and serving in accordance with 1.2.2 NMAC, a public utility
shall serve notice and a copy of its annual renewable energy plan filing by
first class mail on renewable resource providers requesting such notice from
the commission, the New Mexico attorney general, and the intervenors in the
public utility’s most recent rate case.
A public utility shall also post on its website the most recent and the
pending annual Renewable Energy Act plans.
[17.9.572.14 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.572.14
NMAC, 5/4/2021]
17.9.572.15 COST RECOVERY FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY AND
EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS:
A. A
public utility shall recover the reasonable costs of complying with this rule
through the rate making process, including its reasonable interconnection and
transmission costs, costs to comply with electric industry reliability
standards and other costs attributable to acquisition and delivery of renewable
energy and zero carbon energy to retail New Mexico customers.
B. Costs
that are consistent with commission-approved annual Renewable Energy Act plans
are deemed to be reasonable.
C. A
public utility that is permitted to defer the recovery of renewable energy
costs pursuant to commission order may, through the ratemaking process, recover
from customers that are not subject to the rate impact limitations of
Subsection C of Section 62-16-4 NMSA 1978 the cumulative sum of those deferred
amounts, plus a carrying charge on those amounts.
D. Any
financial benefits resulting to customer’s qualified pursuant Subsection C of
Section 62-16-4 NMSA 1978 shall accrue to the customer immediately as of June
14, 2019 and shall be reflected in customer bills each month, subject to annual
true-up and reconciliation.
E. The financial
incentive established pursuant to 17.9.572.22 NMAC shall be recovered or
credited through a separate rider during the calendar year following the
determination of the financial incentive, and subject to reconciliation for
under- or over-recovery in a subsequent calendar year.
F. Any renewable energy
procurement costs recovered through the utility’s fuel clause shall be
separately identified in its monthly and annual fuel and purchased power clause
adjustment filings and its continuation filings.
G. The
commission shall not disallow the cost associated with any expired renewable
energy certificate.
H. If a public
utility has been granted a certificate of public convenience and necessity
prior to January 1, 2015 to construct or operate an electric generation
facility and the investment in that facility has been allowed recovery as part
of the utility’s rate-base, the commission may require the facility to
discontinue serving customers within New Mexico if the replacement has less or
zero carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere; provided that no order of
the commission shall disallow recovery of any undepreciated investments or decommissioning
costs associated with the facility.
[17.9.572.15 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.572.15
NMAC, 5/4/2021]
17.9.572.16 CUSTOMERS QUALIFIED PURSUANT TO
SUBSECTION C OF SECTION 62-16-4 NMSA 1978: Any
customer that is a political subdivision of the state, or any educational
institution designated in Article 12, Section 11 of the constitution of New
Mexico with an enrollment of 20 thousand students or more during the fall semester on its main campus, with
consumption exceeding 20 million kilowatt-hours per year at any single location
or facility, and that owns renewable energy generation or hosts such facilities
through a renewable purchased power agreement, shall not be charged by the
utility for power purchases of one year or less or fuel on the amount of electricity purchased from the
utility equal to the amount of renewable energy produced or hosted by the
customer. The customer shall annually
certify to the state auditor and notify the commission and the customer's serving
electric utility of the amount of renewable energy produced at the
customer-owned or customer-hosted facilities that generate renewable
energy. The customer shall also certify
to the state auditor and notify the commission that the customer will retire
all renewable energy certificates associated with the renewable energy produced
by those facilities. Any financial
benefits as a result of the provisions of this subsection shall accrue to the
customer immediately upon June 14, 2019 and shall be reflected in customer
bills each month subject to annual true-up and reconciliation. The provisions of this rule shall not prevent
the utility from recovering all of its reasonable and prudent fuel and
purchased power costs. That customer
shall also certify that it will retire all renewable energy certificates
associated with the energy produced by those facilities.
A. The
notice to the commission and the customer’s serving utility shall:
(1) be
timely;
(2) state
the plan year during which the renewable energy is expected to be produced or
hosted;
(3) quantify
the amount of renewable energy expected to be produced or hosted; and
(4) shall
include a copy of the customer’s certification to the state auditor.
B. This
section only exempts customers from charges for power purchases of one year or
less or fuel on the amount of electricity purchased from the utility equal to
the amount of renewable energy produced or hosted by the customer. This section shall not prevent the utility
from recovering all of its reasonable and prudent fuel and purchased power
costs.
C. A
public utility shall not retire any RECs retired per the certification of a
customer made pursuant to Subsection C of Section 62-16-4 NMSA 1978 for the
renewable portfolio standard or voluntary renewable energy program compliance.
[17.9.572.16 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.572.16
NMAC, 5/4/2021]
17.9.572.17 RENEWABLE ENERGY CERTIFICATES:
A. Each
public utility shall annually establish its compliance with the renewable
portfolio standard through the filing of an annual report, as provided in
17.9.572.19 NMAC, documenting the retirement of renewable energy certificates.
B. Non-WREGIS
registered RECs shall contain the following information:
(1) the name and
contact information of the renewable energy generating facility owner or
operator;
(2) the name and
contact information of the public utility or rural electric distribution
cooperative purchasing the renewable energy certificate;
(3) the type of
generator technology and fuel type;
(4) the
generating facility’s physical location, nameplate capacity in MW, location and
ID number of revenue meter and date of commencement of commercial generation;
(5) the
public utility to which the generating facility is interconnected;
(6) the
control area operator for the generating facility; and
(7) the
quantity in kWh and the date of the renewable energy certificate creation.
C. Renewable
energy certificates:
(1) are
owned by the generator of the renewable energy unless:
(a) the
renewable energy certificates are transferred to the purchaser of the energy
through specific agreement with the generator;
(b) the
generator is a qualifying facility, as defined by the federal Public Utility
Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, in which case the renewable energy
certificates are owned by the public utility purchaser of the renewable energy
unless retained by the generator through specific agreement with the public
utility purchaser of the energy; or
(c) a
contract for the purchase of renewable energy is in effect prior to January 1,
2019, in which case the purchaser of the energy owns the renewable energy
certificates for the term of such contract; and
(2) may
be traded, sold or otherwise transferred by their owner, unless the certificates
are from a rate-based public utility plant, in which case the entirety of the
renewable energy certificates from that plant shall be retired by the utility
on behalf of itself or its customers.
Any contract to purchase renewable energy entered into by a public
utility on or after July 1, 2019 shall include conveyance to the purchasing
utility of all renewable energy certificates, and the entirety of those
certificates shall be retired by that utility on behalf of itself or its
customers or subsequently transferred to a retail customer for retirement under
a voluntary program for purchasing renewable energy approved by the commission;
(3) that
are used once by a public utility to satisfy the renewable portfolio standard
and are retired shall not be further used by the public utility; and
(4) that
are not used by a public utility to satisfy the renewable portfolio standard
may be carried forward for up to four years from the date of creation and, if
not used by that time, shall be retired by the public utility.
D. Public
utilities are responsible for demonstrating that a renewable energy certificate
used for compliance with the renewable portfolio standard is derived from
eligible renewable energy resources and has not been retired, traded, sold or
otherwise transferred to another party.
Public utilities shall maintain records sufficient to meet the
demonstration requirement of this subsection.
E. The
acquisition, sale or transfer, and retirement of any renewable energy
certificates used to meet renewable portfolio standards on or after January 1,
2008 shall be registered with the western renewable energy generation
information system (WREGIS) or its direct successor(s), except as provided in
Subsection F of this section.
Certificates whose retirement has been registered by the public utility
with WREGIS shall be deemed to meet the requirements of Subsection D of this
section.
F. Renewable
energy certificates representing electricity delivered to the public utility
and assigned to the public utility’s New Mexico customers and registered with a
tracking system other than WREGIS may be used to meet renewable portfolio
standards so long as WREGIS lacks the capability to import certificates from
that other tracking system.
[17.9.572.17 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.572.17
NMAC, 5/4/2021]
17.9.572.18 VOLUNTARY RENEWABLE TARIFFS:
A. The
commission may require that a public utility offer its retail customers a
voluntary program for purchasing renewable energy that is in addition to
electricity provided by the public utility pursuant to the renewable portfolio
standard, under rates and terms that are approved by the commission.
B. The
voluntary renewable tariff may also include provisions to enable consumers to
purchase renewable energy within certain energy blocks and by source of
renewable energy. Additionally, each
public utility must develop an educational program on the benefits and
availability of its voluntary renewable energy program. The tariff, along with the details of the
consumer education program, shall be on file with the commission.
C. All
renewable energy purchased by a retail customer through an approved voluntary
program shall:
(1) have
all associated renewable energy certificates retired by the retail customer, or
on that customer’s behalf, by the public utility, and the certificates shall
not be used to meet the public utility’s renewable portfolio standard
requirements pursuant to Subsection A of Section 62-16-4 NMSA 1978;
(2) be excluded
from the total retail sales to New Mexico customers used to determine the
renewable portfolio standard requirements pursuant to Subsection A of Section
62-16-4 NMSA 1978; and
(3) not be
subject to charges by the public utility to recover costs of complying with the
renewable portfolio standard requirements pursuant to Subsection A of Section
62-16-4 NMSA 1978.
[17.9.572.18 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.572.18
NMAC, 5/4/2021]
17.9.572.19 ANNUAL RENEWABLE ENERGY PORTFOLIO
REPORT:
Concurrent with the filing of an annual renewable energy plan, each
public utility must file with the commission a report on its renewable energy
generation or purchases of renewable energy during the prior plan year. This report shall:
A. itemize
all renewable energy generation or renewable energy certificate purchases and
sales;
B. list,
and include copies of, all renewable energy certificates, including acquired,
issued or retired certificates;
C. document
from WREGIS or its successor the renewable energy certificates acquired, sold,
retired, transferred, or expired; such documentation shall include reports from
WREGIS or its successor which allow the commission to determine, by fuel type,
the number of RECs in each calendar year:
(1) acquired;
(2) sold;
(3) retired;
(4) transferred;
and
(5) expired.
D. describe
the retirements made to meet renewable portfolio standard compliance based on
actual retail sales and procurement costs, for the most recent reporting period
including, the reductions, if any, to the RPS for:
(1) purchases
by retail customers through an approved voluntary program; or
(2) due
to the reasonable cost threshold;
(3) explain
and demonstrate how the reduction was determined; and
(4) quantity
of renewable energy certificates banked for future compliance use.
E. describe
and quantify the implementation of the voluntary renewable tariff requirements
in 17.9.572.18 NMAC; and
F. present
a full explanation of approved recovery mechanisms for approved annual
renewable energy plan costs and a complete accounting of all collected and
deferred amounts.
G. Describe
and tabulate the utility's compliance with its renewable portfolio standard for
a given report year and describe how the compliance relates to the first year a
new renewable portfolio standard becomes effective as established in Subsection
A of Section 62-16-4 NMSA 1978 (2019) and Subsection A of 17.9.572.10 NMAC and
describe how the compliance relates the first year of the next new renewable
portfolio standard. The report shall
include the following to demonstrate compliance with the renewable portfolio
standard:
(1) report year
total utility renewable portfolio standard requirement in megawatt-hours;
(2) report year
total utility renewable portfolio standard compliance in megawatt-hours;
(3) report year
total utility renewable portfolio standard provided by eligible renewable
energy resources in megawatt-hours listed by resource and totaled;
(4) percentage
of report year total utility renewable portfolio standard megawatt-hours
provided by eligible renewable energy resources; and
(5) report Year
kWh generation by facility from coal-fired generating facilities allocated to
New Mexico retail customers.
[17.9.572.19 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.572.19
NMAC, 5/4/2021]
17.9.572.20 REVIEW BY COMMISSION:
A. Interested
parties wishing to protest an annual Renewable Energy Act plan shall do so by
stating the bases for the protest within 30 days after the filing of the
utility’s annual renewable energy plan.
B. The
commission shall approve or modify annual Renewable Energy Act plans within 90
days and may approve such plans without a hearing, unless a protest is filed
that demonstrates to the commission’s reasonable satisfaction that a hearing is
necessary.
C. The
commission may modify a plan after notice and hearing, and may, for good cause,
extend the time to approve an annual Renewable Energy Act plan for an
additional 90 days.
D. If
the commission has not acted within the 90 day period, a plan is deemed
approved.
E. The
commission may reject a plan, within 40 days of filing, if the commission finds
that the plan does not contain the required information; upon such rejection
the public utility’s obligation to procure additional resources will be
suspended for the time necessary to file a revised plan. In such instances, the total amount of
renewable energy to be procured by the public utility will not change.
[17.9.572.20 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.572.20
NMAC, 5/4/2021]
17.9.572.21 EXEMPTION AND VARIANCE: The commission, upon
its own motion, and any interested person may file an application for an
exemption or a variance from the requirements of this rule. Such motion or application shall:
A. identify
the section of this rule for which the exemption or variance is requested;
B. describe
the situation that necessitates the exemption or variance;
C. set
out the effect of complying with this rule on the public utility and its
customers if the exemption or variance is not granted;
D. define
the result the request will have if granted;
E. state
how the exemption or variance will be consistent with the purposes of this
rule;
F. state
why no other reasonable alternative is preferable; and
G. state
why the proposed alternative is in the public interest.
[17.9.572.21 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.572.21
NMAC, 5/4/2021]
17.9.527.22 FINANCIAL INCENTIVE:
A. In
accordance with Subsection D of Section 62-16-4 NMSA 1978 (2019), a public
utility or any other person, may apply by a motion or application, requesting
that the commission provide the public utility with a financial or other
incentives to encourage public utilities to produce or acquire renewable energy
that exceeds the applicable annual renewable portfolio standard set forth in
Section 62-16-4 NMSA 1978 (2019); results in reductions in carbon dioxide emissions
earlier than required by Subsection A of Section 62-16-4 NMSA 1978 (2019); or
causes a reduction in the generation of electricity by coal-fired generating
facilities, including coal-fired generating facilities located outside of New
Mexico. Public utilities shall file any
motion or application under this section concurrently with their annual
Renewable Energy Act plan.
B. A financial
or other incentive proposed under this section must be related to measures
implemented by the utility after the effective date of this rule to accomplish
at least one of the following purposes:
(1) exceeding
the public utility’s annual RPS requirements;
(2) reducing
carbon dioxide emissions earlier than required by Subsection A of Section
62-16-4 NMSA 1978; or
(3) reducing the
generation of electricity by coal-fired generating facilities, including
coal-fired generating facilities located outside of New Mexico that serve the
utility’s customers.
C. The public utility or other person requesting a financial or other incentive
has the burden to prove by a preponderance of evidence that the terms and
duration of the proposed incentive meet the requirements of this rule and are
just and reasonable in light of the utility’s costs, its authorized return, and
the magnitude of any other incentives that have been authorized by the
commission. Any application or motion
requesting a financial or other incentive shall be supported by written
testimony and exhibits.
D. No
incentive will be awarded under this section with respect to a particular
investment if the cost of that investment exceeds the demonstrable value of the
corresponding reduction in carbon dioxide or other emissions. A utility requesting a financial or other
incentive under this rule must establish that the benefits of achieving the
goals set out in Subsection B of this section above are not exceeded by the
costs it incurred to achieve them. To
establish this, the utility must provide detailed analysis for each applicable
period, including but not limited to:
(1) the utility’s total
carbon dioxide emissions;
(2) the reduction in the
utility’s carbon dioxide emissions attributable to the measures described in
Subsection B of this section;
(3) the estimated value of
the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions described in Paragraph (2) of this
subsection based on an analysis of relevant carbon dioxide markets;
(4) the cost of the
measures implemented by the utility that resulted in the lower carbon dioxide
emissions identified in Paragraph (2) of this subsection and the dates when
each measure was implemented; and
(5) any other costs
necessary to implement each of the measures identified in Subsection B of this
section.
E. The total
financial incentive authorized for recovery in rates pursuant to this section
shall not exceed the product (expressed in dollars) of:
(1) the
utility’s annual weighted average cost of capital (expressed as a percent); and
(2) the cost of
the measures described in Subsection B of this
section.
[17.9.572.22 NMAC - N, 5/4/2021]
17.9.527.23 [RESERVED]
[17.9.572.23 NMAC - Repealed,
5/4/2021]
HISTORY OF
17.9.572 NMAC:
Pre-NMAC
History: None.
History of
Repealed Material:
17 NMAC 10.572, Renewable Energy Development
Program (filed 11/30/1998) repealed 7/1/2003.
17.9.572 NMAC, Renewable Energy as a Source of
Electricity (filed 6/16/2003) repealed 1/14/2005.
17.9.572 NMAC, Renewable Energy for Electric
Utilities (filed 12/29/2004) repealed 8/30/2007.
17.9.572 NMAC, Renewable Energy for Electric
Utilities (filed 8/15/2007) repealed 5/31/2013.
17.9.572 NMAC, Renewable Energy for Electric
Utilities (filed 5/10/2013) repealed 5/4/2021.
Other
History:
17 NMAC 10.572, Renewable Energy Development
Program (filed 11-30-98) replaced by 17.9.572 NMAC, Renewable Energy as a Source
of Electricity, effective 7/1/2003, 17.9.572 NMAC, Renewable Energy as a Source
of Electricity (filed 6/16/2003) replaced by 17.9.572, Renewable Energy for
Electric Utilities, effective 1/14/2005.
17.9.572 NMAC, Renewable Energy for Electric Utilities (filed
12/29/2004) replaced by 17.9.572 NMAC, Renewable Energy for Electric Utilities
(filed 8/15/2007) replaced by 17.9.572 NMAC, Renewable Energy for Electric
Utilities effective 5/31/2013.
Renewable Energy for Electric Utilities (filed
5/10/2013) replaced by 17.9.572 NMAC, Renewable Energy for Electric Utilities
effective 5/4/2021.