TITLE 17 PUBLIC UTILITIES AND UTILITY SERVICES
CHAPTER 9 ELECTRIC SERVICES
PART 574 APPLICATIONS TO EXPAND TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION
17.9.574.1 ISSUING AGENCY:
New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.
[17.9.574.1 NMAC - N, 2/14/2023]
17.9.574.2
SCOPE: This rule applies to all investor-owned electric utilities
under the commission’s jurisdiction.
[17.9.574.2 NMAC N, 2/14/2023]
17.9.574.3 STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
Paragraph (10) of Subsection B of Section 62-19-9 NMSA 1978
and Section 62-8-12 NMSA 1978.
[17.9.574.5
NMAC - N, 2/14/2023]
17.9.574.4 DURATION:
Permanent.
[17.9.574.6
NMAC - N, 2/14/2023]
17.9.574.5 EFFECTIVE DATE:
February 14, 2023, unless a later date is cited at the end of a section.
[17.9.574.7
NMAC - N, 2/14/2023]
17.9.574.6 OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this rule is to implement Section 62-8-12 NMSA 1978,
applications to expand transportation electrification, and to bring to New
Mexico the economic development and environmental benefits of expanded
electrification of the State’s transportation modalities and transportation
infrastructure.
[17.9.574.8
NMAC - N, 2/14/2023]
17.9.574.7 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”: “charging station” means any publicly available
infrastructure that delivers electricity from a source outside an electric
vehicle into one or more electric vehicles.
D. Definitions beginning with “D”: [RESERVED]
E. Definitions beginning with “E”: “electric vehicle” or “EV” means a passenger
automobile, truck, bus, train, boat, or other equipment that transports goods
or people that is powered in part or in whole by the use of
electricity from external sources.
F. Definitions beginning
with “F”: [RESERVED]
G. Definitions beginning with “G”: [RESERVED]
H. Definitions beginning with “H”: [RESERVED]
I. Definitions beginning with “I”: “investment” means utility incurred expenditures
on an asset, on a program or a project, or on research and development,
associated with the expansion and facilitation of transportation
electrification.
J. Definitions beginning with “J”: [RESERVED]
K. Definitions beginning with “K”: [RESERVED]
L. Definitions beginning with “L”: [RESERVED]
M. Definitions beginning with “M”:
“measure” means an investment, incentive, program, rate design,
or expenditure in a transportation electrification plan that
is reasonably expected to achieve the goals of Section 62-8-12 NMSA 1978.
N. Definitions beginning with “N”: [RESERVED]
O. Definitions
beginning with “O”:
(1) “off-peak hours” means hours not included in the
on-peak period as set forth in a public utility’s commission approved tariff;
(2) “on-peak hours” means hours
included in the on-peak period as set forth in a public utility’s commission
approved tariff.
P. Definitions beginning with “P”:
(1) “planning horizon” means the two calendar years
immediately following the plan years;
(2) “plan years” means the three calendar years for
which TEP approval is sought;
(3) “public utility” or “utility” means an
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”: [RESERVED]
S. Definitions beginning with “S”: [RESERVED]
T. Definitions beginning with “T”: “transportation electrification plan” or “TEP” means a
plan to expand transportation electrification in a utility’s service territory
over the three plan years, which additionally contains the informational
outlook for the planning horizon.
U. Definitions beginning with “U”: [RESERVED]
V. Definitions beginning with “V”: [RESERVED]
W. Definitions beginning with “W”: [RESERVED]
X. Definitions beginning with “X”: [RESERVED]
Y. Definitions beginning with “Y”: [RESERVED]
Z. Definitions beginning with “Z”: [RESERVED]
[17.9.574.9
NMAC - N, 2/14/2023]
17.9.574.8 IMPACT ON OTHER RULES: Except as specifically provided herein, this
rule does not supersede any other rule of the commission but is to be construed
as a supplement to such rules.
[17.9.574.8
NMAC - N, 2/14/2023]
17.9.574.9 SEVERABILITY: If any part or application of this rule is
held invalid, the remainder of its application shall not be affected.
[17.9.574.9
NMAC - N, 2/14/2023]
17.9.574.10 LIBERAL CONSTRUCTION:
This rule shall be liberally construed to carry out its intended
purposes.
[17.9.574.10 NMAC - N, 2/14/2023]
17.9.574.11 APPLICATIONS TO EXPAND TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION:
A. In accordance
with the filing schedule provided in 17.9.574.12 NMAC, a public utility shall
file with the commission an application for approval of a proposed three-year
plan to expand transportation electrification in the utility’s service
area. The
three-year plan may include planned investments,
incentives, programs, rate designs, and expenditures that are reasonably
expected to achieve the goals of Section 62-8-12 NMSA 1978 during the plan years.
B. A public utility’s proposed three-year
plan shall include, at minimum:
(1) strategies
and measures for expanding transportation electrification among low-income
customers and underserved communities, including but not limited to:
(a) a percentage budgetary carveout for
measures aimed at increasing EV awareness and adoption among low-income
customers and in underserved communities;
(b) outreach and marketing strategies and
measures for expanding transportation electrification among low-income
customers and in underserved communities; and
(c) strategies and measures for mass transit
operations, ride-sharing programs, and multi-family dwelling units in the
utility’s service area that serve low-income customers and underserved
communities;
(2) strategies
and measures for expanding transportation electrification across multiple EV
classes, including but not limited to personal and commercial light-duty,
medium-duty, and heavy-duty EVs, and electric bicycles;
(3) expected customer participation estimates
and the methods used to derive such estimates;
(4) strategies and measures for servicing
multiple market segments, including but not limited to commercial businesses,
multi-family dwelling units, single-family homes, and ride-sharing and public
transit programs;
(5) strategies and measures for coordinating
with State or federal EV infrastructure planning;
(6) strategies and measures for
coordinating with existing business locations that sell and dispense
transportation fuel to the public; and
(7) identification of key performance
indicators for program success and how these indicators are utilized to further
the success of the program.
C. Strategies and measures for
low-income customers shall permit self-certification of eligibility and shall
be provided with public-facing materials in English and Spanish, and any
incentives shall be made available prior to or at the time of purchase.
D. In addition to the proposed three-year plan, the TEP
shall include a planning outlook addressing the two-year period beyond the
three-year plan. The two-year planning
outlook shall be presented for informational purposes to inform the commission
of the utility’s vision for the transportation electrification sector during
the planning horizon. Planning outlooks
shall include:
(1) the
public utility’s outlook for projected transportation electrification in its
service territory, including estimates of the expected numbers of EVs operating
in its service territory, listed by light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty EV
classes;
(2) expected lead times for coordinating
with State and federal EV infrastructure planning, EV charging station
operators, existing business locations that sell and dispense transportation
fuel to the public, and other stakeholders, and for planned construction or
planned deployments, including estimated or expected new or upgraded
infrastructure needs;
(3) anticipated requests for regulatory
approvals to effectuate a future TEP in the planning horizon, to carry out the
three-year plan, to support the transition between TEPs, and to coordinate with
State or federal EV infrastructure planning;
(4) planned or potential integration with
neighboring public utility transportation electrification planning and possible
strategies for coordinating with rural electric cooperatives, tribes, and
pueblos, if any;
(5) anticipated grid management requirements and
projected peak load requirements to reliably accommodate expanded
transportation electrification in the public utility’s service territory, and
how these requirements may be reduced by improved distribution planning, rate
design, or other solutions;
(6) forecasted potential for meeting new
load growth associated with EV charging infrastructure with renewable energy;
and
(7) any expected or potential policy or
statutory issues that could impact expanded infrastructure or network upgrades
required by expanded transportation electrification in the public utility’s
service territory.
E. The application shall include:
(1) testimony
and exhibits providing a full explanation of the public utility’s determination
of the plan years’ transportation electrification expansion measures to be
undertaken and their corresponding budgets;
(2) the costs of transportation
electrification measures in the plan years;
(3) whether
the public utility intends to recover costs through a tariff rider, base rates,
or both;
(4) testimony and exhibits demonstrating
how the cost and amount specified in Paragraphs (2) and (3) of this Subsection
were determined;
(5) testimony
demonstrating that the proposed transportation electrification plan is
reasonably and prudently designed and expected to accomplish any or all of the goals of the TEP pursuant to Paragraphs (1)
through (6) of Subsection B of Section 62-8-12 NMSA 1978 and 17.9.574 NMAC.
[17.9.574.12 NMAC - N, 2/14/2023]
17.9.574.12 APPLICATION FILING, SERVICE, AND REVIEW:
B. A public utility shall
electronically file and serve its application pursuant to 1.2.2 NMAC. A public utility shall electronically serve a
copy of its application on intervenors in the public utility’s most recent TEP
docket, the New Mexico attorney general, and the intervenors in the public
utility’s most recent rate case. The
public utility shall also post on its website its most recently approved TEP
and any proposed TEP pending before the commission.
C. The commission shall complete its
review and approval of a public utility’s TEP application pursuant to
17.9.574.11 NMAC no later than six months after filing of the application,
unless the commission finds that a longer time will be required, in which case
the commission may extend the period for an additional three months.
D. The commission’s final order on a
public utility’s TEP application shall address the utility’s proposed cost
recovery for TEP costs.
[17.9.574.13 NMAC - N, 2/14/2023]
17.9.574.13 ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT:
A. Each public utility shall file an
annual progress report of its progress in meeting the requirements and goals of
its TEP. Public service company of New
Mexico shall file its first annual progress report by June 1, 2024, and shall
file annually thereafter by June 1st. El paso electric company shall file its
first annual progress report by July 1, 2024, and shall file annually
thereafter by July 1st. Southwestern
public service company shall file its first annual progress report by April 1, 2025, and shall file annually thereafter by April
1st.
B. In addition to any service territory
specific reporting requirements carried over from a public utility’s previously
approved transportation electrification plan, the annual progress report shall
include for a utility’s service territory:
(1) an estimate of EV adoption,
including estimated changes in EV adoption since the utility’s most recently
approved TEP;
(2) an estimate of the number and
type of TEP-funded EV charging stations and ports and an estimate of required
maintenance, frequency of repairs, and station outages;
(3) the number of participants in TEP
programs, including:
(a) estimated low-income customer
participation; and
(b) participation by customer rate class.
(4) an estimate of usage or of the amount
of energy sold to program participants during off-peak and on-peak hours, as
well as the change in usage since the last annual progress report;
(5) TEP spending by measure;
(6) estimated electricity consumption
by participating EV charging stations in kWh;
(7) estimated load from incentivized
EV charging infrastructure in kW;
(8) geographical distribution of
participants and infrastructure investments;
(9) descriptions of average load data
and load profiles of TEP programs;
(10) a listing and summary of all
customer outreach activities, the cost of those activities, an estimate of the
number of customers reached, and an assessment of the effectiveness of each
activity; and
(11) readily available data that may
inform future measures to help better understand the impact of EV charging on
the electric grid.
[17.9.574.14 NMAC - N, 2/14/2023]
17.9.574.14 BUDGET FLEXIBILITY:
A. A public utility shall be
granted budget flexibility between programs in its TEP to shift up to twenty
percent of a program’s budget to another program.
(1) Inter-program budget flexibility may
not be used to shift funding from a dedicated low-income program to:
(a) a program for standard customers; or
(b) any customer outreach and education
program.
(2) Inter-program budget flexibility
between different low-income programs, or into low-income programs from other
programs, including low-income programs, is permissible.
B. Should a public utility exceed
ninety percent of its allocated spending for a program in its current TEP at
any point during the plan period, the utility is authorized to exceed that
program’s original budget by up to ten percent to supplement funding for that
program. This budget flexibility mechanism does not apply to:
(1) a pilot program with participation
caps;
(2) a program for which that program’s
budget was reduced pursuant to Subsection A of 17.9.574.14 NMAC; or
(3) any customer outreach and education
program.
C. A public utility may request
additional budget flexibility funding in its TEP application or at any other
time after approval of its current TEP.
D. The commission reserves the
authority to stipulate additional circumstances when budget flexibility shall
not be applicable.
[17.9.574.14 NMAC - N, 2/14/2023]
17.9.574.15 EXEMPTION AND VARIANCE:
A. The commission, upon its own motion,
may issue, or any interested person, may file an application for, an exemption
or a variance from the requirements of this rule.
B. An exemption or variance motion
or application shall:
(1) identify the section of this rule for
which the exemption or variance is requested;
(2) describe the situation that
necessitates the exemption or variance;
(3) set out the effect of complying with
this rule on the public utility and its customers if the exemption or variance
is not granted;
(4) define the result the request will
have if granted;
(5) state how the exemption or variance
will be consistent with the purposes of this rule;
(6) state why no other reasonable
alternative is preferable; and
(7) state why the proposed alternative is
in the public interest.
[17.9.574.15 NMAC - N, 2/14/2023]
HISTORY of 17.9.574 NMAC: [RESERVED]