New Mexico Register / Volume XXXV, Issue 5 / March 12, 2024

NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING

DOCKET NO. 23-00188-UT

The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (the “Commission”) gives notice of its initiation of a proposed rulemaking to promulgate a new rule at 17.9.589 NMAC. The rule which may be adopted as the final rule in this proceeding may include all, part, or none of the language in the proposed rules issued by the commission. The commission may also consider alternative proposals for amending or replacing the current rules.

Concise statement of proposed rules: The commission is considering promulgating a new rule at 17.9.589 NMAC intended to promote electric service reliability by requiring investor-owned electric public utilities to report a variety of reliability metrics to the commission on an annual basis with the goal of identifying, prioritizing, and meeting reliability needs.

Constitutional and statutory authority: New Mexico Constitution, Article XI, Sec. 2; Section 62-6-25 NMSA 1978; Section 62-8-13 NMSA 1978; Subsection D of Section 62-9-1 NMSA 1978; Subsection E of Section 62-9-3 NMSA 1978; Subsection B of Section 62-16-4 NMSA 1978; and Subsection B of Section 62-16-6 NMSA 1978.

How a copy of the full text of the proposed rule can be obtained:

A copy of the full text of the proposed rules may be obtained from the Rulemaking Proceedings section of the Commission’s website at https://www.prc.nm.gov/rulemaking-proceedings/ under Case No. 23-00188-UT or by calling LaurieAnn Santillanes in the Office of General Counsel at (505) 670-4830.

How a person can comment on the proposed rule, where comments will be received and when comments are due:

Written initial comments and written response comments shall be filed by the deadlines below in accordance with NMPRC rules of procedure 1.2.2 NMAC. For information as to how to file at the time of filing, please contact Melanie Sandoval, the commission’s records bureau chief at (505) 470-8538 or melanie.sandoval@prc.nm.gov. Written initial comments shall be filed no later than April 26th, 2024, written response comments shall be filed no later than May 10, 2022. Comments shall refer to Docket No. 23-00188-UT. All written comments will be posted on the Commission’s e-Docket website within three days of their receipt by the records bureau.

A public comment hearing on the Proposed Rule and any proposed alternatives, to be presided over by the Commission or its designee, shall be held beginning at 1:00 p.m. on May 15, 2024, via the Zoom video-conferencing platform. Any member of the public who wishes to make a comment at the hearing may contact Patrick Rodriguez via email at public.comment@prc.nm.gov or by phone at (505) 490-7910 no later than 12:00 p.m. (noon) on May 14, 2024, to sign up as a hearing participant. The Commission shall email a Zoom invitation to all hearing participants the day before the hearing. The Zoom invitation shall include a call-in number for those participants who are unable to access Zoom’s video-conferencing platform. The public comment hearing will be held to receive oral comments. All commenters may be limited in time to speak, subject to the discretion of the Commission or its designee. The Commission or its designee may also determine that a spokesperson should be designated to speak on behalf of an organization, a group, or a group of individuals that shares the same message or seeks the same goals, in order to maximize the efficiency of the public comment hearing. No testimony or other evidence shall be taken at the hearing as this is a rulemaking proceeding. A court reporter shall prepare a transcript of the hearing for filing in this docket.

The record of this case will close on May 22, 2024. From that date through the completion of this proceeding, rulemaking participants will be forbidden from communicating with the commission or its representatives concerning substantive issues in this proceeding.

Any person with a disability requiring special assistance in order to participate in the hearing should contact the Office of Director of Administrative Services of the Commission at (505) 827-8019 as soon as possible prior to the commencement of the hearing. Instructions on how to access the complete rulemaking record, reports and other items filed in the commission’s e-docket system can be found at https://www.prc.nm.gov/rulemaking-proceedings/.