PNM trying to cash same check twice

Increase in utility bills for users of solar panels aims to discourage their connection to PNM-owned grid

Preserving our cultural heritage is a responsibility that has been passed down from one generation to the next since the beginning of time. Without such a tradition, how else can we ensure that our children and grandchildren will be provided a glimpse into our collective past and thus be able to form a comprehensive understanding of who they are?

While we all remain jointly committed to preserving our cultural heritage for future generations, a new challenge has arisen that may hinder our efforts. Our changing climate and its resulting impacts are jeopardizing the landmarks and communities we hold most dear.

Yet, despite the growing risk, conversations on how to comprehensively protect our cultural heritage have been largely absent from public discourse. One of the ways we can address this issue and maintain our vital cultural legacy is by calling on policy-makers at all levels of government to support communities in planning for a climate-resilient future, including making informed choices by assessing the costs of action versus inaction.

Here in New Mexico, we take our thousands of years of cultural heritage seriously and work together as a community to preserve what we value. My family, for example, leaves behind a legacy of ranching, farming and rural water management via the acequias, which for centuries have provided an essential ecosystem and economic base for the regions in which they are located.

But this connection to our natural resources is currently being threatened by climate impacts, such as the mega drought, forest fires, consequential flooding and an array of health problems associated with the burning of fossil fuels at nearby coal-fired power plants.

In 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed in its Clean Power Plan the first limits on carbon dioxide emissions produced by existing power plants. The plan sets emissions reduction targets for the power sector state by state and nationally would reduce pollution from CO2 emissions by 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.

At the same time and in response to other Clean Air Act regulations, the Public Service Company of New Mexico has announced its regressive plan to replace the power from two retiring coal-fired units at the San Juan Generating Station with coal generation, as well natural gas, nuclear and a small amount of solar power. It’s a misguided step that would essentially keep PNM almost entirely reliant on coal, nuclear and natural gas to meet our state’s energy needs rather than moving forward with a progressive plan that includes a much greater investment in our wealth of untapped renewable energy resources, such as wind and solar.

On April 6, the Albuquerque City Council in a historic 6-3 vote withdrew support for the current PNM plan. That same week, a hearing officer advised the Public Regulation Commission to reject PNM’s plan of maintaining the dirty coal status quo. These recent events to overturn PNM’s energy plan is testimony that now is the time to transform our power mix by incorporating more clean and affordable renewable energy.

PNM has also proposed a “distributed energy interconnection fee” — a tactic used to increase utility bills of New Mexico solar panel users to discourage them from connecting to the PNMowned grid. Essentially, PNM is covertly trying to cash the same check twice. As the price to install solar energy continues to fall, making it increasingly attractive for consumers, this unfair fee increase will become a growing problem for more New Mexico businesses and homeowners.

As a consultant for the Union of Concerned Scientists, I recognize that we need to use the best available science to make informed decisions. According to a recent UCS report titled “Strengthening the EPA’s Clean Power Plan,” I can proudly say that New Mexico has the potential to affordably and reliably meet the Clean Power Plan target set for the state by nearly doubling the use of renewables.

New Mexicans know that modernizing the electricity grid with more renewable energy will make us more resilient and help protect our cultural heritage. PNM’s proposed rate hike for solar panel users runs contradictory to our tradition of working with our environment to preserve what we value and is something that should not stand.