Quarterly reports track economic data for N.M. counties
In her Friday (May 15) update, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham added specific COVIDSafe Practices (CSPs) for certain business sectors to the set of universal CSPs she has outlined for all businesses as they reopen, effective Saturday (May 16).
View the entire 47-page document, “COVID-Safe Practices for Individuals and Employers,” at indd.adobe.com/view/f8c729a43094-4157-af47-b13eddea33f2.
The sectors include retail; restaurants; offices and call centers; grocery stores and farmers markets; youth programs; manufacturing, warehouses and food production facilities; hotels, resorts and lodging; golf courses; tour operators; houses of worship; farms, ranches and dairy producers and processors; veterinarians and animal care facilities; construction and field operations; automobile dealerships and services; and medical providers and other health care industries.
While CSPs are included for restaurants in the master document, restaurants are not yet permitted to offer dine-in service, according to the updated public health order. However, CSPs are included to give restaurant owners advance notice so they can make proper preparations ahead of the reopening date, which has not yet been determined.
The new plan also lists CSPs for all New Mexicans, including guidelines for vulnerable individuals. CSPs for other sectors of the tourism industry, such as events, casinos, museums and entertainment venues, will be published at a later date.
In an effort to understand the impacts of the pandemic and analyze economic changes, the Department of Economic Development is now publishing quarterly data reports for all 33 New Mexico counties, Cabinet Secretary Alicia J. Keyes announced May 11.
The Quarterly Economic Summaries, as they’re called, offer perspective on which business sectors are rising and falling in each of the state’s 33 counties. Taxable gross receipts are tracked over time by industry sector and displayed as
over-the-year trends. The summaries also report on employment and average weekly wage trends, unemployment insurance claims and annual changes in gross domestic product.
Tracking taxable gross receipts, which are viewed as the lifeblood of most communities, offers a different view of a local economy than workforce or job growth. Gross receipts taxes pay for public services, essential equipment for first responders and other critical needs.
According to Keyes, the reports can be another tool for state lawmakers and local communities to use when making decisions about workforce training, job creation and economic investment. The data will be especially useful, she believes, as the state moves into recovery planning following the COVID-19 emergency.
“This has never been done on a county level,” said Keyes, “and we hope the reports can be used to assist and guide officials as we move to invest in a sustainable recovery.”
EDD Deputy Secretary Jon Clark, who supervised the project, noted the paucity of data for nonmetro areas of New Mexico.
“We know good decisions start with good data,” said Clark, “and we want the EDD to be a resource for all communities around the state. The goal of these reports would be to provide economic and revenue information on a quarterly basis to allow each county to see the full impact of the COVID-19 crisis and the effects of the economic recovery.”
The quarterly reports will be published in February, May, August and November, drawing from the most recent information available from the Taxation and Revenue Department, Department of Workforce Solutions, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The next report – including March, when the COVID-19 emergency started – will be released on or before May 29, once the new data is available.
Reports that include the first part of fiscal year 2020 are now available in 33 individual county files on the EDD website here: gonm.biz/site-selection/countyprofiles.
Kit Carson’s largest solar array goes live
A new solar array rated at 3 megawatts of capacity began operations Thursday (May 14), providing enough solar energy to power more than 1,500 families in Kit Carson Electric Cooperative’s member base.
The new array, located near the town of Taos water treatment plant, comprises more than 12,000 photovoltaic panels and will serve KCEC’s largest substation. The startup brings the rural cooperative closer to its goal of powering all its members with 100 percent renewable energy during the day by 2022.
With inclusion of the new 3MW array, KCEC now has 17 operational arrays that supply a total of 19.8MW solar energy to local homes and businesses.
“The construction of solar arrays in our communities has been a great economic development venture while giving our members the choice of renewable energy that our community has wanted for years,” said Kit Carson CEO Luis Reyes Jr. in a statement. “With every panel installation and every array coming online, we are getting that much closer to our renewable energy goals, thanks to our great partnerships with Guzman Energy and the town of Taos.”
Local developer ParaSol started construction of the array in October 2019 using all local labor. It was financed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service, which supports rural communities with infrastructure improvements.
KCEC developed the array in collaboration with Denverbased Guzman Energy, a wholesale power provider. The co-op partnered with Guzman in 2016 when it terminated its agreement with Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association in order to reduce its dependence on gasand coal-fired power generation, meet its renewable energy goals and, eventually, drive down overall power costs.
With the addition of three new arrays currently in development, KCEC will realize a total of 53MW of renewable energy capacity, including both solar power and battery storage.