ETA blunts PRC authority, costs customer safeguards

I WOULD like to respond to Sen. Jacob Candelaria’s unapologetic guest column (July 24) in which he chastised Public Regulation Commission (PRC) commissioners simply for doing their jobs and ensuring that ratepayers have a chance to challenge imprudent utility investments.

Candelaria was the primary legislative supporter of a recently enacted, PNM-written law that took away PRC authority to ensure that our rates are “just and reasonable” or that utility investments are “prudently” made.

The Energy Transition Act has some very positive aspects, such as increasing the Renewable Portfolio Standard … to set N.M. on the path to a renewable energy future, and “securitization” of certain costs to make the transition more costeffective for ratepayers.

However, it was wrong for our Legislature and Gov. (Michelle Lujan) Grisham to sacrifice ratepayer protections in order to set us on the renewable energy path. Evisceration of certain PRC authority was completely unnecessary and, if left standing, will deeply hurt New Mexico.

The Public Regulation Commission was granted authority to regulate monopoly utilities in New Mexico. Submitting to regulation is the tradeoff that monopolies make in order to benefit from having an all-inclusive customer base with no competition from other companies; this is what is known as the “regulatory compact.”

Never before in New Mexico — or in the U.S — have laws been passed that break that compact and eviscerate ratepayer protections as a result. The offending provisions of the ETA need to be repealed.

Sen. Candelaria, Gov. (Lujan) Grisham, N.M. Legislature: How are you going to fix the mess that you made? How will you restore the ratepayer protections that you stole from us? RICK BURNS Caballo