TITLE 17 PUBLIC
UTILITIES AND UTILITY SERVICES
CHAPTER 9 ELECTRIC
SERVICES
PART 550 FUEL
AND PURCHASED POWER COST ADJUSTMENT CLAUSES FOR ELECTRIC UTILITIES
17.9.550.1 ISSUING
AGENCY: New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.
[17.9.550.1 NMAC -
Rp, NMPSC Rule 550, 12-30-10]
17.9.550.2 SCOPE: NMPSC
Rule 550, 17.9.550 NMAC shall apply to every electric utility and generation
and transmission cooperative operating within the state of New Mexico and which
is subject to the jurisdiction of the commission as provided by law.
[17.9.550.2 NMAC - Rp,
NMPSC Rule 550.1, 12-30-10]
17.9.550.3 STATUTORY
AUTHORITY: Sections
62-3-1, 62-3-2, 62-6-4, 62-8-1, 62-8-3 and 62-8-7(E) and (F), NMSA 1978.
[17.9.550.3 NMAC - N,
12-30-10]
17.9.550.4 DURATION: Permanent.
[17.9.550.4 NMAC - N,
12-30-10]
17.9.550.5 EFFECTIVE DATE: December 30, 2010, unless a later date is cited at the end of
a section.
[17.9.550.5 NMAC - N,
12-30-10]
17.9.550.6 OBJECTIVE: The
objective of this rule is to:
A. provide for adequate regulatory review of a utility's
operations under a fuel and purchased power cost adjustment clause
("FPPCAC");
B. provide for the stability of utility earnings when
electric fuel costs and purchased power costs are rising and permit prompt
credits to customers when electric fuel costs and purchased power costs are
declining; and
C. assure that utilities collect through the FPPCAC the
amount actually expended for fuel and purchased power costs;
D. the objective of a FPPCAC is to flow through to the users
of electricity the increases or decreases in applicable fuel and purchased
power expense per kilowatt-hour of delivered energy above or below a base fuel
and purchased power expense.
[17.9.550.6 NMAC - Rp,
NMPSC Rule 550.2, 12-30-10]
17.9.550.7 DEFINITIONS:
Unless otherwise specified, the following definitions will apply:
A. account (number)
means such account as defined and in current use by the federal energy
regulatory commission;
B. annual report
means the report filed annually that summarizes and verifies all actual fuel
and purchased power revenues and expenses during the twelve (12) months ended
December 31 of each year; the annual report shall be verified under oath by an
officer of the utility;
C. applicable fuel
and purchased power expense means the fuel and/or purchased power expense
that is to be collected through the FPPCAC in accordance with a utility’s commission-approved
methodology and forms;
D. applicable kWh
sales means the kilowatt-hour (“kWh”) sales associated with the applicable
fuel and purchased power expense;
E. balancing account
means the difference between the increased or decreased fuel and purchased
power expenses in the second month preceding the current month and the actual fuel
and purchased power cost adjustment revenue billed in the current month; the balancing
account may also include other components granted by a 17.9.550 NMAC variance;
F. base fuel and purchased
power expense means the cost of fuel and purchased power upon which the
applicable rate schedule was based stated on a dollars per kWh basis;
G. billing month
or effective month means the month
during which the FPPCAC factor is applied to customers’ bills;
H. current month
means the most recent month for which actual fuel and purchased power volumes
and costs and kWh sales data are available;
I. fuel and purchased
power cost adjustment clause or FPPCAC
means that clause in a rate schedule that contains the parameters under which
the fuel and purchased power cost adjustment factor is determined for customer
monthly billing;
J. fuel and purchased
power cost adjustment factor or factor
means the monthly dollars per kWh charge to be applied to customers’ bills, and
which represents the amount of increase or decrease in dollars per kWh to be
added to or deducted from each bill; for monthly adjustable factors, the factor
is the increased or decreased fuel and purchased power expense stated on a dollars
per kWh basis by dividing the current month's increased or decreased fuel and
purchased power expenses by the applicable kWh sales as set forth under
17.9.550.12 NMAC;
K. increased or decreased
fuel and purchased power expense means the difference between the applicable
fuel and purchased power expense and the base fuel and purchased power expense
during the current month.
[17.9.550.7 NMAC - Rp,
NMPSC Rule 550.7, 12-30-10]
17.9.550.8 VARIANCES:
Applications for a variance shall:
A. describe with particularity the reasons which prompted
the filing of the variance application;
B. set out the effect of complying with 17.9.550 NMAC on the
utility and its customers as a result of the condition;
C. identify the section(s) of 17.9.550 NMAC from which the
variance is requested;
D. describe the result which the request will have if
granted;
E. state how the variance will achieve the purposes of
17.9.550 NMAC as stated in 17.9.550.6 NMAC;
F. state why the proposed variance is a reasonable
alternative to the requirements of this rule.
[17.9.550.8 NMAC - Rp,
NMPSC Rule 550.3, 12-30-10]
17.9.550.9 SERVICE OF
APPLICATIONS: A utility filing an application for an
initial or continued FPPCAC, or a variance, shall, contemporaneously with such
filing, mail copies of such application by first class mail to the attorney general
and the intervenors in the utility's most recent rate case.
[17.9.550.9 NMAC - Rp,
NMPSC Rule 550.4, 12-30-10]
17.9.550.10 HEARINGS:
A. Unless otherwise ordered by the commission, formal
hearings will not be held prior to the effective date of any factor adjustment
made in accordance with the provisions of 17.9.550 NMAC. The commission may, upon its own motion or
upon the filing of a complaint, and after notice to the utility, public, attorney
general, and intervenors of record in the utility's last filed rate case,
suspend any adjustment pending hearing.
However, the commission may allow the factor in effect immediately
preceding the period in which the suspended adjustment otherwise would have
become effective, to remain in effect, subject to refund or surcharge, during
the interim time period in which an adjustment is suspended pending
hearing. In the event that a suspended
adjustment ultimately is approved, in whole or in part, following a hearing,
interest charges computed at the statutory rate established under NMSA 1978, Section
62-13-13, or any amendment to it, and computed for the period commencing with
the date the suspended adjustment actually becomes effective, shall, as
provided by the commission, be added to the calculation resulting from the
approved adjustment.
B. The matters which the commission might notice for hearing
may include but are not limited to:
(1) any unusual or substantial increases in
the cost for fuel and purchased power;
(2) the development of any dispute over the
interpretation of contracts or laws concerning the pricing of any significant
amount of power supply;
(3) any new or amended contractual
arrangements for provision of services related to power supply; and
(4) any other matter that the commission
determines requires a hearing.
[17.9.550.10 NMAC - Rp,
NMPSC Rule 550.5, 12-30-10]
17.9.550.11 EFFECT OF RULE: This rule
shall in no way relieve any electric utility subject to the jurisdiction of the
commission of any of its duties prescribed under the laws of New Mexico or the
tariff regulations, orders and rules of the commission.
[17.9.550.11 NMAC - Rp,
NMPSC Rule 550.6, 12-30-10]
17.9.550.12 CALCULATION OF
FUEL AND PURCHASED POWER COST ADJUSTMENT FACTOR; PURPOSE OF BALANCING ACCOUNT:
A. Calculation of a factor shall be made using the
methodology, required format and data calculations approved for the utility by
the commission, and shall be submitted on commission-approved forms. A sample format is provided in 17.9.550.20 NMAC
of this rule. A utility’s methodology
for calculation of its factor shall be proposed in its initial tariff filing or
continuation filing pursuant to 17.9.550.16 and 17 NMAC of this rule. A methodology approved by the commission may
be based on monthly, rolling average, or fixed period calculations. Where applicable, a utility’s methodology
shall take into consideration the utility’s multi-state and jurisdictional
operations and shall identify any allocation factors applied by the
utility. Costs associated with an
investor-owned utility’s long term purchase power contracts with a term of two
or more years may be recovered through the utility’s FPPCAC if consistent with
all commission orders or rules regarding such contracts or with commission
approval.
B. Unless otherwise ordered by the commission the methodology for calculating a monthly-adjustable factor shall employ the use of a balancing account. The purpose of the balancing account is to insure that only the appropriate revenue is recovered through the application of the factor. The balancing account shall compensate for under-collections and over-collections of revenue by increasing or decreasing the factor for the next following billing month. A utility may make additional adjustments to the factor to mitigate the effect on customers of monthly changes in the balancing account, and the adjusted factor shall go into effect unless suspended by the commission. Additional amounts may be applied to the balancing account as the commission may authorize or direct. These additional items may include such amounts as refunds received by the utility or extraordinary payments by the utility, provided that these payments have received written approval of the commission prior to inclusion in the balancing account.
[17.9.550.12 NMAC - Rp,
NMPSC Rule 550.8, 12-30-10]
17.9.550.13 INFORMATION TO BE
FILED:
A. Each electric utility that has a FPPCAC as a part of a
filed rate schedule shall file each month all the data and calculations called
for in 17.9.550.12 NMAC. The monthly
data shall be submitted in electronic format to the director of the utility division
or his designee on the earliest possible date after the end of each month, but
in no event less than five (5) days before the factor becomes effective for
customer billing. The utility shall also
file its monthly data with the commission’s records bureau prior to the
effective date of the factor. Where a
utility has more than one base fuel and purchased power expense in various rate
schedules, a separate calculation shall be filed for each base fuel and
purchased power expense and a separate balancing account shall be maintained
for each base fuel and purchased power expense.
B. An investor-owned utility shall provide the total charges that were incurred under purchased power contracts with a term of not less than fifteen days and entered into by the utility to replace normally available or scheduled power and energy from the utility’s generating resources that operate at annual capacity factors of 40 percent or more and that were unavailable due to an unplanned outage and included in each month’s FPPAC report. The utility shall make available each underlying purchased power contract to utility division staff upon request, in a manner consistent with any applicable confidentiality provisions in such contract. This reporting requirement shall not apply to economy energy transactions and transactions entered into for solely economic dispatch purposes.
C. Upon the utility division’s receipt of the factor, a
review of the calculations will be conducted by utility division staff to
ensure compliance with this rule. In the
event a utility fails to timely file the calculations of its factor in
accordance with this section, or if the data filed by the utility is incomplete
or inaccurate, utility division staff may immediately petition the commission
for the appropriate relief provided by law and these rules, including the
suspension, or collection subject to refund, of the factor.
D. Whenever the utility or the commission has good reason to
believe on the basis of factual data that the adjustment factor would result in
a substantial under-collection or over-collection of revenue in the following
billing month with the further result that adjustment factors for future billing
months would fluctuate excessively, the utility may apply to the commission for
permission to place into effect or the commission may direct the utility to
place into effect a specified increase or decrease in the amount of the
adjustment factor which is to remain in effect for such period of time as the commission
may direct.
E. Each utility that has a FPPCAC shall file by April 30 of
each year the annual report defined in Subsection B of 17.9.550.7 NMAC.
[17.9.550.13 NMAC - Rp,
NMPSC Rule 550.9, 12-30-10]
17.9.550.14 ELIMINATION OR
IMPOSITION OF CONDITIONS: The commission may eliminate or impose
conditions on a particular FPPCAC if it finds such action is consistent with
the purposes of the Public Utility Act, including serving the goal of providing
reasonable and proper service at fair, just and reasonable rates to all
customer classes; provided however that no such elimination or imposition of
conditions shall be ordered if to do so would place the affected utility at a
competitive disadvantage. The commission
may provide for separate examination of a utility's FPPCAC based upon that
utility's particular operating characteristics.
[17.9.550.14 NMAC - Rp,
NMPSC Rule 550.10, 12-30-10]
17.9.550.15 RENDITION AND
STATEMENT OF FUEL AND PURCHASED POWER COST ADJUSTMENT FACTOR: The factor
shall be expressed in dollars per kWh, and the resultant monthly charge or
credit shall be shown on each customer's monthly bill.
[17.9.550.15 NMAC - Rp,
NMPSC Rule 550.11, 12-30-10]
17.9.550.16 INITIAL TARIFF
FILING:
A. No utility shall have a FPPCAC included in its tariff
unless it complies with the requirements of 17.9.550 NMAC in the design of its
FPPCAC and tariff and files an application with the commission requesting
approval of its use of a FPPCAC. The
utility shall submit testimony along with its initial tariff filing and
application under 17.9.550 NMAC showing that all of the objectives stated in
17.9.550.6 NMAC are met by its tariff and that:
(1) the costs of fuel and purchased power are a
significant percentage of the total cost of service;
(2) the costs of fuel and purchased power
periodically fluctuate and cannot be precisely determined in a rate case;
(3) the utility's fuel and purchased power
policies and practices are designed to assure that electric power is generated
and purchased at the lowest reasonable cost.
B. Sufficient financial and other necessary information and
data shall be submitted to demonstrate that no amounts to be recovered under
the operation of the FPPCAC are included in the base rates for service. The commission may approve all or part of the
tariff filing and format with or without a formal hearing. All tariffs shall be deemed approved thirty
(30) days after filing unless otherwise suspended by the commission.
[17.9.550.16 NMAC - Rp,
NMPSC Rule 550.12, 12-30-10]
17.9.550.17 CONTINUATION
FILINGS:
A. Each utility operating with a FPPCAC as part of its
tariff shall file an application for continued use of its FPPCAC at intervals
of no more than four (4) years from the date the FPPCAC is approved or
continued by the commission. The
application must address the considerations described in Paragraphs (1) through
(4) of Subsection E of 62-8-7 NMSA 1978.
A utility may elect to satisfy this requirement by submitting its
continuation filing as part of a general rate proceeding that is subject to
hearing by the commission or in a separate filing. Failure to file the application required in
this paragraph by the prescribed time may, after notice and hearing, result in
appropriate orders or sanction under the Public Utility Act, including
termination of the utility's FPPCAC.
B. All applications required by this section shall be
accompanied by a revenue and expense statement that shall contain, at minimum,
an analysis of costs and revenues included in or affected by the operation of
the utility's FPPCAC. In addition, the
utility shall make the same showings required of an initial tariff filing set
out in 17.9.550.16 NMAC.
C. A continuation filing shall be deemed approved thirty
(30) days after filing unless suspended by the commission. Unless otherwise ordered by the commission,
an existing FPPCAC shall remain in effect pending the outcome of a proceeding
in which a request for continued use of an FPPCAC has been suspended.
[17.9.550.17 NMAC - Rp,
NMPSC Rule 550.13, 12-30-10]
17.9.550.18 REFUNDS RIGHT: The commission
in its discretion may order refunds of charges collected under the provisions
of 17.9.550 NMAC to the customers of an electric utility where the commission
determines, after notice and hearing, that the utility's collection of such
amounts is contrary to the provisions of 17.9.550 NMAC, the previously approved
adjustment factor, or otherwise is unfair, unjust or unreasonable.
[17.9.550.18 NMAC - Rp,
NMPSC Rule 550.14, 12-30-10]
17.9.550.19 PRUDENCE
REVIEW: The commission in its discretion may order
that a prudence review be conducted to assure that fuel and purchased power
costs collected by a utility through its FPPCAC are prudently incurred. Any prudence review shall be conducted under
such procedures as the commission may direct.
Unless otherwise ordered by the commission for good cause shown, the
costs of the prudence review shall be paid by the utility and the costs treated
as a regulatory asset, which shall accrue carrying costs at a rate to be set by
the commission in its order authorizing the prudence review, until included in
base rates and recovered in the utility’s next general rate proceeding.
[17.9.550.19 NMAC - N,
12-30-10]
17.9.550.20 NMPRC
RULE 550 FPPCAC SAMPLE FORM: A
utility shall submit a monthly report and calculation of its factor to the commission,
using a standard format that is not inconsistent with the format and data
requirements of this section. Supporting
workpapers shall accompany the monthly report.
FPPCAC Factor Sample Report Form:
NEW MEXICO PUBLIC REGULATION
COMMISSION
NEW MEXICO JURISDICTION RETAIL
FUEL AND PURCHASED POWER DATA
17.9.550 NMAC FPPCAC REPORT
FORM
UTILITY NAME _________________________________
BILLING MONTH
_________________________
CURRENT MONTH
________________________
I. SUMMARY
FPPCAC FACTOR INFORMATION
1. Type of Factor (fixed, rolling average, monthly): ___________________
2. Effective Date of Factor: _____________
3. Billing Month’s System Factor: _____ /kWh
4. Per kWh Base Rate Cost of Fuel and Purchased Power (if applicable): ______ /kWh
5. Number of Months Factor is Applicable: ___________
6. Time Period of Data Used to Calculate Factor: _______________
7. Cumulative Over/Under Collection at end of Current Month: _______________
8. Applicable Case No(s). for FPPCAC Approvals: __________________
9.
Supporting Workpapers (attached)
II. CURRENT MONTH (OR OTHER APPLICABLE
PERIOD) JURISDICTIONAL FUEL AND PURCHASED POWER EXPENSES
FUEL EXPENSE (Investor-Owned Utilities)
(Attach supporting workpapers)
ACCOUNT 501 -FUEL EXPENSE
a) Coal $________
b) Natural Gas $________
c) Oil $________
TOTAL ACCOUNT 501 $__________
ACCOUNT 518 - NUCLEAR FUEL EXPENSE (Investor-Owned Utilities)
$__________
2.A. PURCHASED POWER EXPENSE (Investor-Owned
Utilities)
(Attach supporting workpapers)
ACCOUNT 555-PURCHASES
a) Firm/Capacity $________
Capacity $________
Firm $________
Bank
(Net) $________
Spinning
Reserves $________
b) Contingent/Unit Commitment $________
c) Economy $________
TOTAL
PURCHASED POWER EXPENSE $__________
LESS ACCOUNT 447-SALES FOR RESALE
a) Firm/Capacity $________
Capacity $________
Firm $________
Bank
(Net) $________
Spinning
Reserves $________
b) Contingent/Unit Commitment $________
c) Economy $________
d) Firm Surplus $__________
System
Sales $________
Block Sales $________
Other
Firm Sales $________
e). Other Adjustments
(Renewable Energy, Margin Sharing, Etc.) $__________
TOTAL SALES FOR RESALE $__________
NET PURCHASED POWER EXPENSE $___________
2.B PURCHASED POWER EXPENSE (Distribution
Cooperatives)
(Attach supporting workpapers, with purchased power billing invoice to be provided as available)
a) Demand $_____________
b) Energy $_____________
c) Transmission $_____________
d) Misc Adjustments $_____________
e) Supplier Adjustments $_____________
f) Other Charges $_____________
TOTAL
PURCHASED POWER EXPENSE $__________
3. BALANCING ACCOUNT OR
CUMULATIVE OVER/UNDER COLLECTION (If
Applicable)
(Investor-Owned Utilities and Distribution Cooperatives)
(Attach supporting workpapers)
$__________
4. APPLICABLE TOTAL FUEL AND PURCHASED
POWER EXPENSE
(Investor-Owned Utilities and Distribution
Cooperatives)
$__________
III. CURRENT MONTH (OR OTHER APPLICABLE
PERIOD) FUEL AND PURCHASED POWER
REVENUES
(Investor-Owned Utilities and Distribution Cooperatives)
1. APPLICABLE KWH SALES __________ kWh
2. FUEL AND PURCHASED POWER REVENUES
a) Base Rate Revenues: $_______/kWh times kWh Sales $___________
b) FPPCAC Revenues: $_______ /kWh times kWh Sales $___________
c) Revenue Adjustments $___________
TOTAL FUEL AND
PURCHASED POWER REVENUES $__________
[17.9.550.20 NMAC - Rp,
NMPSC Rule 550 Forms I & II, 12-30-10]
HISTORY OF 17.9.550 NMAC:
Pre-NMAC History: The
material in this part was derived from that previously filed with the commission
of public records-state records center and archives.
PSC-GO 28, (Case No.
1083) General Order No. 28, Rules Governing Fuel And Purchased Power Cost
Adjustment Clause For Electric Utilities, filed 4/17/74.
NMPSC Rule 550, Fuel
and Purchased Power Cost Adjustment Clauses for Electric Utilities, filed 6/30/88.
NMPSC Rule 550, Fuel
and Purchased Power Cost Adjustment Clauses for Electric Utilities, filed 8/17/92.
NMPSC Rule 550, Fuel
and Purchased Power Cost Adjustment Clauses for Electric Utilities, filed
8/25/92.
History of Repealed Material:
NMPSC Rule 550, Fuel
and Purchased Power Cost Adjustment Clauses for Electric Utilities (promulgated
by former NM Public Service Commission and filed 8/25/92), repealed 12/30/2010.
Other History:
NMPSC Rule 550, Fuel
And Purchased Power Cost Adjustment Clauses For Electric Utilities (filed
8/25/92) was renumbered, reformatted and replaced by 17.9.550 NMAC, Fuel and
Purchased Power Cost Adjustment Clauses For Electric Utilities, effective
12/30/2010.