Efficient Use of Energy Act (New Mexico)

Last modified on February 12, 2015.

Rules Regulations Policies Program

Place	New Mexico
Name	Efficient Use of Energy Act
Incentive Type	Public Benefits Fund
Applicable Sector	Commercial, Industrial, Residential
Eligible Technologies	Unspecified technologies
Active Incentive	Yes
Implementing Sector	State/Territory
Energy Category	Energy Efficiency Incentive Programs
Charge	Limit: 75,000/yr per customer
Date added to DSIRE	2006-04-24
Last DSIRE Review	2012-11-06
References	DSIRE

Summary

The Efficient Use of Energy Act of 2005 allows public electric and natural gas utilities to implement cost-effective energy-reduction programs. The programs may be funded through a tariff rider for energy-efficiency and load management programs. The charges on the consumer cannot exceed the commission’s approved tariff for that customer’s bill or $75,000 per year. The Act also provides for monitoring, verification, and periodic reporting by the utility on its energy efficiency expenditures and overall program effectiveness. Public utilities must obtain Commission approval of energy efficiency and load management programs before they are implemented. All investor-owned utilities in New Mexico have now received approval for their energy efficiency programs.

A distribution cooperative may collect from its customers a renewable energy and conservation fee of no more than one percent of the customer's bill. Money collected through the renewable energy and conservation fee must be segregated in a separate renewable energy and conservation account from other distribution cooperative funds and can only be expended on programs or projects to promote the use of renewable energy, load management or energy efficiency.

Electric cooperatives must provide written submission of their energy-efficiency programs to the Commission, but approval for such programs shall reside with the governing body of each cooperative utility.

Background In 2007, SB 418 removed a requirement that consumer charges cannot exceed 1.5% of a consumer's energy bill and empowered the Commission to establish a new cap.

Incentive Contact

Contact Name	John Reynolds
Department	New Mexico Public Regulation Commission
Address	PO Box 1269
Address 2	1120 Paseo de Peralta
Place	Santa Fe, New Mexico
Zip/Postal Code	87504
Email	John.Reynolds@state.nm.us
Website	http://www.nmprc.state.nm.us/

Authorities (Please contact the if there are any file problems.)

Authority 1:	N.M. Stat. § 62-17-1 et seq.

Authority 2:	NMAC 17.7.2

• Incentive and policy data are reviewed and approved by the N.C. Solar Center's DSIRE project staff.