New Mexico Register / Volume XXXIV,
Issue 3 / February 14, 2023
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]