TITLE 17 PUBLIC
UTILITIES AND UTILITY SERVICES
CHAPTER 9 ELECTRIC
SERVICES
PART 573 COMMUNITY
SOLAR
17.9.573.1 ISSUING
AGENCY: New Mexico Public Regulation
Commission.
[17.9.573.1
NMAC - N, 07/12/2022]
17.9.573.2 SCOPE: This rule applies to investor-owned electric utilities
subject to the commission’s jurisdiction and to rural electric distribution
cooperatives that opt into the community solar program. This rule also applies to subscriber
organizations and subscribers as defined in the Community Solar Act, Subsections
M and N of Section 62-16B-2 NMSA 1978.
[17.9.573.2
NMAC - N, 07/12/2022]
17.9.573.3 STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Paragraph (10) of Subsection B of Section 62-19-9 and Section 62-16B-7 NMSA 1978.
[17.9.573.3 NMAC - N, 07/12/2022;
A, 10/22/2024]
17.9.573.4 DURATION: Permanent, unless otherwise
indicated.
[17.9.573.4
NMAC - N, 07/12/2022]
17.9.573.5 EFFECTIVE DATE: July 12, 2022, unless a later date
is cited at the end of a section.
[17.9.573.5 NMAC - N, 07/12/2022]
17.9.573.6 OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this rule are to implement the Community
Solar Act, Section 62-16B-1 et seq. NMSA 1978, and to reasonably allow
for the creation, financing and accessibility of community solar facilities.
[17.9.573.6 NMAC - N, 07/12/2022]
17.9.573.7 DEFINITIONS: [RESERVED]
[17.9.573.7 NMAC - N, 07/12/2022]
17.9.573.8 LIBERAL CONSTRUCTION:
If
any part or application of this rule is held invalid, the remainder of its
parts and any other applications of the rule shall not be affected.
[17.9.573.8
NMAC - N, 07/12/2022]
17.9.573.9 UTILITY FILINGS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAM: Utilities shall file all tariffs, agreements and forms
necessary for implementation of the community solar program with the commission
within 60 days of the effective date of this rule.
[17.9.573.9 NMAC - N, 07/12/2022]
17.9.573.10 COMMUNITY SOLAR FACILITY REQUIREMENTS:
A. A community solar facility, excepting
any native community solar project, shall:
(1) have a nameplate capacity rating of
five megawatts alternating current or less;
(2) be located in
the service territory of the qualifying utility and be interconnected to the
electric distribution system of that qualifying utility;
(3) have at least ten subscribers;
(4) have the option to be co-located with
other energy resources, but shall not be co-located
with other community solar facilities;
(5) not allow a single subscriber to be
allocated more than forty percent of the generating capacity of the facility;
and
(6) make at least forty percent of the
total generating capacity of a community solar facility available in
subscriptions of 25 kilowatts or less.
B. At least thirty percent of
electricity produced from each community solar facility shall be reserved for
low-income subscribers and low-income service organizations. The commission will issue guidelines to
ensure the carve-out is achieved each year and develop a list of low-income
service organizations and programs that may pre-qualify low-income customers.
[17.9.573.10 NMAC - N, 07/12/2022]
17.9.573.11 STATEWIDE CAPACITY PROGRAM
CAPS:
A. The statewide capacity program
cap, effective November 1, 2024, is 300
megawatts alternating current.
This cap does not apply to applications and projects that have been
processed in the commission’s initial application selection process as such
applications and projects remain subject to the initial cap of 200
megawatts. The 300-megawatt cap will
apply to the first selection process to be conducted after November 1, 2024,
and will be in addition to the 200-megawatt cap applied to the initial
selection process, resulting in a total cap of 500 megawatts. The 300-megawatt cap is allocated among the
service territories of the three qualifying utilities according to addressable
market estimations, subject to further refinement, as follows:
(1) public service
company of New Mexico (PNM),
185 MW;
(2) southwestern public service company
(SPS), 70 MW; and
(3) El
Paso electric company
(EPE), 45 MW.
B. The commission may, at its discretion,
reallocate the capacity cap among the territories of the utilities to avoid a
significant shortfall of the capacity actually used vis-ŕ-vis the capacity cap.
C. The commission will review the cap on an annual basis.
[17.9.573.11 NMAC - N, 07/12/2022; A, 10/22/2024]
17.9.573.12 PROCESS FOR SELECTION OF COMMUNITY
SOLAR FACILITIES:
A. The commission will engage a
third-party administrator to manage an unbiased and nondiscriminatory process
for selection of proposed projects for building and operating community solar
facilities. The commission will have no involvement in the process except to the extent that
the administrator or any participant in the process may raise before the commission
an issue that is not fully addressed in this rule and that the commission
finds, in its discretion, that it should address.
B. Community solar facility projects
shall be selected through a competitive solicitation process, with each bid
meeting the following minimum requirements for eligibility:
(1) the bidder’s legally binding site control;
(2) the bidder’s commitment to meeting
statutory subscriber minimums and not exceeding statutory maximums;
(3) the bidder’s completion of a utility
pre-application report or an equivalent report by the utility;
(4) the bidder’s proof of access to collateral for the
applicable project deposit; and
(5) the bidder’s payment of a $1000
non-refundable bid application fee to the commission.
D. No utility shall use any information
provided in the interconnection application process or any information to which
the utility has superior access to gain an unfair advantage for itself or any
utility-affiliated bidder in the project selection process.
E. Eligible bids shall be scored using a
set of non-price factors, with each factor weighted by the number of points awarded
to the factor, as follows:
(1) each bid shall be awarded to one of
the following categories pertaining to permitting status, each with its own
point weighting:
(a) a bid for which all necessary
non-ministerial permits and approvals have been secured, based upon a
permitting plan signed by a licensed engineering firm, shall be categorized as
fully permitted and shall be awarded 15 points:
(b) a bid for which applications are
pending for all necessary non-ministerial permits, or for which one or more
permits have been granted and applications are pending for the remainder, based
upon permitting plan signed by a licensed engineering firm, shall be
categorized as permits known and pending and shall be awarded 10 points;
(c) a bid for which the necessary
non-ministerial permits have been identified based upon a permitting plan
signed by a licensed engineering firm, but not all such permits have been
applied for, shall be categorized as permits known and shall be awarded five points;
or
(d) a bid for which the necessary
non-ministerial permits have not been identified, based upon a permitting plan
signed by a licensed engineering firm, shall be categorized as no permitting
activity and shall be awarded no points.
(2) each bid shall
be awarded points for having any, some, or all of the following attributes concerning the bidder’s experience in
developing and managing community solar projects, with the attributes being
additive, not exclusive, for a range of zero to 10 potential points per bid:
(a) a bid made by a bidder composed of partners
or principals having experience with subscriber recruiting and subscription management
shall be awarded three points;
(b) a bid made by a bidder composed of
partners or principals having experience building and operating facilities
shall be awarded three points; and
(c) a bid made by a bidder composed of partners or principals
having experience working directly with low-income communities shall be awarded
four points.
(3) each bid shall be assigned to one of
the following categories pertaining to financing status, each with its own
point weighting:
(a) a bid for which financing has been
secured, whether in the form of an executed commitment letter from the project
financier(s) or in the form of written confirmation of executive-level approval
for internal financing, shall be categorized as financing secured and shall be awarded
10 points;
(b) a bid for which financing has not been
secured but for which a detailed and feasible financing plan has been prepared
shall be categorized as financing planned and shall be awarded four points; or
(c) a bid for which financing has not been
secured and for which no detailed and feasible financing plan has been prepared
shall be categorized as financing unplanned and shall be awarded no points.
(4) each bid shall be awarded points for having one
or both of the following attributes concerning the proposed project site’s
viability for interconnection, with the attributes being additive, not
exclusive, for a range of zero to five potential points per bid:
(a) a bid for which the proposed project
site’s distance to the utility’s nearest three-phase line is less than one mile,
as demonstrated by the utility’s pre-application report or convincing
alternative evidence presented by the bidder, shall be awarded two points; and
(b) a bid for which the proposed project would
interconnect to a line of voltage 12 kV or higher, as demonstrated by the
utility’s pre-application report, shall be awarded three points.
(5) each bid shall be awarded points for
including any, some, or all the following commitments beyond what is required
by the statute, with the commitments being additive, not exclusive, for a range
of zero to 25 potential points per bid:
(a) a bid including a commitment to exceed
the statutory thirty-percent minimum level of subscription of low-income
subscribers shall be awarded two points for each additional five-percent
commitment above the thirty-percent minimum, up to a maximum of eight points
for a commitment to a fifty-percent low-income subscription level for the
proposed project;
(b) a bid including a commitment to serve
a specific percentage of direct-billed low-income customers shall be awarded two
points for a ten-percent commitment and two additional points for each
additional ten-percent commitment, up to a maximum of eight points for a
commitment to a forty-percent subscription level of direct-billed, low-income subscribers
for the proposed project;
(c) a bid including a commitment to
refrain from imposing upon any potential low-income subscriber any up-front
costs of subscribing, a commitment to refrain from imposing upon any potential
low-income subscriber any early termination fee, and a commitment to refrain
from requiring or ordering any credit check or credit report for any low-income
subscriber, shall be awarded two points; and
(d) a bid including a commitment to supplement
the community solar bill credit for any low-income subscriber, for a minimum
period of five years, by including, in addition to the credit as calculated and
provided by the utility, a credit from the subscriber organization to the
subscriber in the amount of an additional twenty to thirty percent of the
utility solar bill credit, shall be awarded four points for a commitment of twenty
percent up to and including twenty-two percent, five points for a commitment
above twenty-two percent up to and including twenty-five percent, six points
for a commitment above twenty-five percent up to and including twenty-seven
percent, or seven points for a commitment above twenty-seven percent up to and
including thirty percent.
(6) each
bid shall be awarded points for having any, some, or all of
the following attributes concerning benefits to local communities, to
disproportionately impacted communities, or to disadvantaged groups, with the
attributes being additive, not exclusive, for a range of zero to 20 potential
points per bid:
(a) a bid including a commitment to offer
workforce training or educational opportunities to disproportionately impacted
communities shall be awarded six points;
(b) a bid including a commitment to
contract for materials, supplies, or services only with businesses owned or
operated locally or owned or operated by members of racial minorities, women,
veterans, or Native Americans, shall be awarded six points;
(c) a bid including a commitment to
ownership of the proposed facility by members of the local community shall be
awarded two points; and
(d) a bid including evidence of and a
description of an existing and continuing partnership with a tribe, pueblo,
local community, or non-profit community organization shall be awarded six points.
(7) each bid shall be awarded points for
having any, some, or all of the following attributes
concerning the proposed project site, with the attributes being additive, not
exclusive, for a range of zero to five potential points per bid:
(a) a bid for a
project to be sited on a brownfield, built environment, or rooftop shall be
awarded two points;
(b) a bid for a project to be sited on
municipal, county, or state land shall be awarded one point; and
(c) a bid for a project that has received
a favorable analysis from the department of cultural affairs
or a qualified independent expert shall be awarded two points.
(8) each bid shall be categorized
according to the provisions of Section 13-1-21 NMSA 1978, and
shall be awarded points accordingly.
(9) The program administrator may award an
additional five points to any bid that, as determined by the administrator in
its discretion, includes an innovative commitment or provision beneficial to
the local community, to potential subscribers, or to the program overall.
G. For each bid selected to proceed further by the program
administrator, the bidder shall pay to the commission
an application fee in the amount of $2500 for each megawatt of nameplate
capacity the proposed facility is expected to have.
H. The program administrator shall identify sets of proposed
projects to comprise utility-specific wait lists of proposed projects that
would be eligible and able to participate in the program should a project or
multiple projects be withdrawn after being selected to go forward. The wait lists shall be comprised of projects
that received total scores immediately below the scores of the projects that
were selected. The program administrator
shall maintain a wait list for each qualifying utility, including projects with
combined capacities for each utility equal to the utility’s allocated capacity
cap. Each bidder proposing a wait-listed project
shall pay the $2500/MW application fee within 30 days of moving from the wait
list into the queue of selected projects.
I. A utility must consider interconnection
applications for community solar projects that have been selected by the
administrator and any projects from the wait list that replace any selected
projects and need not consider interconnection applications for community solar
projects that have not been selected or have not replaced selected projects. Among the group of interconnection
applications for community solar projects that have been selected by the
administrator or have replaced selected projects, a utility must prioritize
consideration of applications in the order of ranking by points awarded to each
project in the selection process. A
utility shall not apply any preference for interconnection applications for
community solar projects as opposed to other types of interconnection
applications, and vice-versa, regarding prioritization in the interconnection
queue.
[17.9.573.12 NMAC - N, 07/12/2022]
17.9.573.13 INTERCONNECTION AND ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS:
A. The commission may determine on a
case-by-case basis whether the cost of distribution
system upgrades necessary to interconnect one or more community solar
facilities may be eligible for some form of cost-sharing:
(1) among subscriber organizations using
the same distribution facilities;
(2) among all ratepayers of the
qualifying utility via rate base adjustments; or
(3) among ratepayers of the same rate
class as subscribers to the community solar facility via a rate rider for that
class.
B. In making a
determination that there are public benefits to such a cost-sharing
mechanism, the commission will employ the analysis that the commission employs
when considering cost sharing or rate basing grid modernization projects as
defined by 71-3 NMSA 1978, the Grid Modernization Act, to make a finding that
the approved expenditures are:
(1) reasonably expected to improve the
utility’s electrical system efficiency, reliability, resilience and security;
(2) reasonably expected to maintain
reasonable operations, maintenance and ratepayer costs;
(3) reasonably expected to meet energy
demands through a flexible, diversified and distributed energy portfolio;
(4) reasonably expected to increase access
to and use of clean and renewable energy, with consideration given to
increasing access to low-income subscribers and subscribers in underserved
communities; or
(5) designed to contribute to the
reduction of air pollution, including greenhouse gases.
C. The commission will consider approving
sharing of interconnection costs with nonsubscribing
ratepayers only to the extent that the costs borne by such ratepayers are
matched or exceeded by demonstrable benefits to such ratepayers, so that there
will be no subsidization of interconnection costs by nonsubscribing
ratepayers.in appropriate cases.
D. A utility may recover administrative
costs of carrying out its responsibilities concerning the community solar
program through a rate rider from which nonsubscribing
ratepayers are exempt. A utility may
apply to the commission to establish such a rider.
[17.9.573.13 NMAC - N, 07/12/2022]
17.9.573.14 REGISTRATION OF SUBSCRIBER ORGANIZATIONS:
A. The commission will issue a
registration form that each subscriber organization shall file with the
commission, that includes ownership and contact information, non-profit
registration, or proof of certification to operate in New Mexico, and a general
description of the project(s) proposed by the subscriber organization.
B. Each
subscriber organization’s ongoing authorization to operate community solar
facilities shall be dependent upon the organization’s compliance with the
statutory thirty-percent low-income subscription minimum for each facility
operated by the subscriber organization.
Each
subscriber organization shall report to the program administrator on a monthly basis upon the organization’s
progress toward meeting the requirement.
Subscriber organizations that have reached the required level shall
report on a quarterly basis to verify that the requirement continues to be met. Subscriber organizations that fail to reach
the required level within one year of project selection may be subject, at the commission’s
discretion, to penalties up to and including suspension or revocation of the
subscriber organization’s authorization to operate.
[17.9.573.14
NMAC - N, 07/12/2022]
17.9.573.15 SPECIAL SUBSCRIBER PROVISIONS:
A Low-income customers who are
eligible to meet the thirty percent carve out of Paragraph (3) of Subsection B of Section
62-16B-7 NMSA 1978 may be pre-qualified based on participation in any of the following programs:
(1) medicaid;
(2) Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP);
(3) Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP);
(4) first-time homeowner programs and housing
rehabilitation programs;
(5) living in a low-income/affordable housing
facility; or
(6) state and federal income
tax credit programs.
B. An
entire multi-family affordable housing project may prequalify its entire load as a low-income
subscriber.
C. A
customer who does not qualify
under subpart A may qualify
as a low-income subscriber
by signing a self-attestation that the customer’s income and household size
qualify the customer as a low-income subscriber.
D. Low-income service organizations need only fit the special
definition of this term provided
in the community solar act,
Subsection H of Section 62-16-2 NMSA 1978.
E. For the initial period of the
program, the commission shall contract with an experienced service provider to partner with community organizations and to manage
an outreach program
to attract low-income subscribers to the program.
[17.9.573.15 NMAC - N, 07/12/2022; A, 10/22/2024]
17.9.573.16 SUBSCRIBER PROTECTIONS:
A. The commission has adopted a uniform
disclosure form, identifying the information to be provided by subscriber
organizations to potential subscribers, in both English and Spanish, and when
appropriate, native or indigenous languages, to ensure fair disclosure of
future costs and benefits of subscriptions, key contract terms, security
interests and other relevant but reasonable information pertaining to the
subscription, as well as grievance and enforcement procedures. The key contract terms to be disclosed on the
form are subscription size (kw dc), estimated contract effective date, contract
term (months or years), option to renew y/n?,
enrollment costs/subscription fees, payment terms, rate discount, estimated
total one year payments, early termination fees or cancellation terms, and
subscription portability or transferability.
The subscriber organization shall provide the form to a potential
subscriber and allow them a reasonable time to review the form’s disclosures
and sign the form before entering into a subscription agreement. The subscriber organization shall maintain in
its files a signed form for each subscriber for the duration of the
subscriber’s subscription, plus one year, and shall make the form available to
the commission upon the commission’s request.
B. The subscriber organization must
maintain a minimum level of general liability
insurance coverage for each facility that it operates, with the minimum
level dependent upon the nameplate capacity of the facility, according to the
following schedule: one million dollars
per occurrence for a facility with a capacity greater than 250 kW, five hundred
thousand dollars per occurrence for a facility with a capacity in the range of
40 kW - 250kW, and three hundred thousand dollars per occurrence for a facility
with a capacity below 40 kW.
[17.9.573.16 NMAC - N, 07/12/2022]
17.9.573.17 SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENTS:
Each
subscriber organization shall develop and implement a written subscriber agreement
containing the organization’s terms and conditions for subscribing to its
project.
A. The subscriber agreement must include
the following terms, at a minimum:
(1) general project information;
(2) the effective date and term of the
agreement;
(3) identification of all charges and
fees;
(4) payment details;
(5) information about the bill credit
mechanism;
(6) a comparison of the subscriber’s net
bill with and without the subscription;
(7) the terms and conditions of service;
(8) the process for customer notification if
the community solar facility is out of service;
(9) the customer protections
provided;
(10) contact information for questions and
complaints; and
(11) the subscriber organization’s commitment
to notify the subscriber of changes that could impact the subscriber.
B. The commission may consider additional required terms in a
future proceeding.
C. Complaints by subscribers against subscriber organizations
may be submitted to the commission’s consumer relations division for informal
resolution. The commission may, in its discretion, refer serious issues to the attorney
general to pursue enforcement proceedings.
[17.9.573.17
NMAC - N, 07/12/2022]
17.9.573.18 CO-LOCATION OF COMMUNITY SOLAR
FACILITIES: As
long as a community solar facility is not located on the same parcel as another
community solar facility, it shall not be considered co-located with another
community solar facility. For any parcel that has been subdivided in
the two years prior to a community solar project bid, all subdivided parcels
shall be considered a single parcel for the purposes of this
rule. The commission will consider, on a
case-by-case basis, allowing more than one community solar facility to be located
on the same parcel.
[17.9.573.18 NMAC - N, 07/12/2022]
17.9.573.19 PRODUCTION DATA:
A. The subscriber organization shall pay
for a production meter to be used to measure the amount of electricity and renewable
energy certificates generated by each community solar facility, whether
installed by the utility or the subscriber organization. A net meter may serve as the production meter
if the utility determines that there is no material onsite load at the
facility.
B. The subscriber organization shall provide
real-time reporting of production as specified by the utility. For a community solar facility with production capacity greater than 250 kW AC, the subscriber
organization shall provide real-time electronic access to production and system
operation data to the utility.
C. Production from the facility shall be
reported to the subscribers by the subscriber organization on at least a
monthly basis. Subscriber organizations
are encouraged to provide website access to subscribers showing real-time
output from the facility, if practicable, as well as historic production data.
[17.9.573.19 NMAC - N, 07/12/2022]
17.9.573.20 COMMUNITY SOLAR BILL CREDIT RATE:
A. In
calculating the solar bill credit rate, the utility shall calculate the total
aggregate retail rate on a per-customer-class basis, less the commission-approved
distribution cost components, and identify all proposed rules, fees and other
charges converted to a kilowatt-hour rate, including fuel and power cost
adjustments, the value of renewable energy attributes and other charges of a
qualifying utility's effective rate schedule applicable to a given customer
rate class, but does not include charges described on a qualifying utility's
rate schedule as minimum monthly charges, including customer or service
availability charges, energy efficiency program riders or other charges not
related to a qualifying utility's power production, transmission or
distribution functions, as approved by the commission, franchise fees and tax
charges on utility bills;
B. The total aggregate retail rate is the
total amount of a qualifying utility's demand, energy and other charges
converted to a kilowatt-hour rate, including fuel and power cost adjustments,
the value of renewable energy attributes and other charges of a qualifying
utility's effective rate schedule applicable to a given customer rate class,
but does not include charges described on a qualifying utility's rate schedule
as minimum monthly charges, including customer or service availability charges,
energy efficiency program riders or other charges not related to a qualifying
utility's power production, transmission or distribution functions, as approved
by the commission, franchise fees and tax charges on utility bills. The utility’s tariff for the bill credit
shall include a table specifying the components of the total aggregate retail
rate, the value of the renewable energy attributes and the distribution costs
to be subtracted.
C. The utility shall base its
distribution cost calculation upon its most recently commission-approved
cost-of-service study indexed to current value.
D. The utility shall not subtract any
costs of transmission from the solar bill credit rate calculation.
[17.9.573.20 NMAC - N, 07/12/2022]
17.9.573.21 UNSUBSCRIBED ENERGY:
A. If
a community solar facility is not fully subscribed in a given month, the
unsubscribed energy may be rolled forward on the community solar facility
account for up to one year from its month of generation and allocated by the
subscriber organization to subscribers at any time during that period. At the end of that period, any undistributed
bill credit shall be removed, and the unsubscribed energy shall be purchased by
the qualifying utility at its applicable avoided cost of energy rate as
approved by the commission.
B. The utility shall document any payments made for
unsubscribed energy, including documentation of the utility’s calculation of
avoided cost and make such documentation available to the commission upon
request. The utility may request
recovery of such payments in its next base rate case.
[17.9.573.21 NMAC
- N, 07/12/2022]
17.9.573.22 REPORT TO LEGISLATURE:
On April 1, 2023
and April 1, 2024, qualifying utilities and subscriber organizations shall
provide information to the commission relevant to the report to the legislature
due on November 1, 2024. The commission
will issue specific information requests no later than 45 days before each
April deadline.
[17.9.573.22 NMAC - N, 07/12/2022]
HISTORY OF 17.9.570 NMAC: [RESERVED]