SB 357 — GENERATION & TRANSMISSION RATE PROTESTS

SENATE BILLCONSERVATION 357COMMITTEE 54SUBSTITUTE THFOR LEGISLATURE-SENATE STATEBILL OF357 NEW54TH MEXICOLEGISLATURE - STATEOFNEWMEXICO- FIRST SESSIO,SESSION, 2019 INTRODUCED4 BY6 Carlos8 R.10 AN ACT RELATING TO UTILITIES;

CisnerosALLOWING 6TRANSMISSION 8CUSTOMERS 10TO ANPROTEST ACTA RELATINGPROPOSED TOGENERATION UTILITIES;AND TRANSMISSION RATE CHANGE.

AMENDING THE REQUIREMENTS TO PROTEST A PROPOSED GENERATION AND TRANSMISSION RATE CHANGE.

Nothing in this u [ section, however, shall be deemed to confer upon the commission .212524.2.214240.1 SCONC/SB 357 power or jurisdiction to regulate or supervise the rates or service of any utility owned and operated by any municipal corporation either directly or through a municipally owned corporation or owned and operated by any H class county, by a class B county as defined in Section 4-36-8 NMSA 1978 or by a class A county as described by Section 4-36-10 NMSA 1978 either directly or through a corporation owned by or under contract with an H class county, by a class B county as defined in Section 4-36-8 NMSA 1978 or by a class A county as described by Section 4-36-10 NMSA 1978 or the rates, service, securities or class I or class II transactions of a generation and transmission cooperative.

No inspection or supervision fees shall be paid by generation and transmission cooperatives, or by such municipalities or municipally owned corporations, a class B county as defined in Section 4-36-8 NMSA 1978, a class A county as described by Section 4-36-10 NMSA 1978 or H class e e 17 counties or such corporation owned by or under contract with a e e n d 18 class B county as defined in Section 4-36-8 NMSA 1978, a class = = l ] 19 A county as described by Section 4-36-10 NMSA 1978 or an H a l r i 20 class county with respect to operations conducted in a class B t e a t county as defined in Section 4-36-8 NMSA 1978, in a class A m m 21 e d r e 22 county as described by Section 4-36-10 NMSA 1978 or in H class r e 22 c e r c 23 counties.

The sale, furnishing or delivery of gas, water u [ or electricity by any person to a utility for resale to or for .212524.2.214240.1 - 2 - SCONC/SB 357 the public shall be subject to regulation by the commission but only to the extent necessary to enable the commission to determine that the cost to the utility of the gas, water or electricity at the place where the major distribution to the public begins is reasonable and that the methods of delivery of the gas, water or electricity are adequate;

provided, however, that nothing in t e a t this subsection shall be construed to permit regulation by the m m 21 e d r e 22 commission of production or sale price at the wellhead of gas r e 22 c e r c 23 or petroleum.

.212524.2.214240.1 - 3 - SCONC/SB 357 D.

Any member utility or transmission customer may 6 file a protest of the proposed rates no later than twenty days after the generation and transmission cooperative files the advice notice.

If [three]three one or more New Mexico member utilities or transmission customers file protests and the commission determines there is just cause in at least [threethree ] one of the protests for reviewing the proposed rates, the commission shall suspend the rates, conduct a hearing concerning reasonableness of the proposed rates and establish reasonable rates.

Each protest must contain a clear and concise statement of the specific grounds upon which the protestant believes the proposed rates are unreasonable or e e 17 otherwise unlawful;

a brief e e 17 description of the protestant's efforts to resolve its e e n d 18 efforts to resolve its objections directly with the generation and transmission = = l ] 19 and transmission cooperative;

a clear and concise statement of the relief the a l r i 20 the relief the protestant seeks from the commission;

and a formal resolution t e a t formal resolution of the board of trustees of the protesting member utility or m m 21 e d r e 22 member utility or transmission customer authorizing the filing c e r c 23 of the protest.

r e 22 c e r c 23 In order to determine whether just cause may exist for review, e a n b 24 exist for review, the commission shall consider whether each u [ protestant has u [ exhausted remedies with the generation and .212524.2transmission .214240.1 - 4 - transmissionSCONC/SB 357 cooperative or whether the generation and transmission cooperative has unreasonably rejected the protestant's objections to the proposed rates.

The generation and transmission cooperative and its members are expected to make a good faith effort to resolve the member utility's objections to the proposed rates during that period e e 17 period of time.

= = l ] 19 (1) "generation and transmission cooperative" a l r i 20 means a person with generation or transmission facilities t e a t either organized as a rural electric cooperative pursuant to m m 21 e d r e 22 Laws 1937, Chapter 100 or the Rural Electric Cooperative Act or r e 22 c e r c 23 organized in another state and providing sales of electric e a n b 24 power to member cooperatives in this state;

and u [ (2) "transmission customer" means an entity .212524.2.214240.1 - 5 - SCONC/SB 357 that has a contractual transmission agreement with a generation and transmission cooperative but is not a member of the transmission and generation cooperative." SECTION 2.

- 6 - 8 10 12 14 16 e e 17 e e n d 18 = = l ] 19 a l r i 20 t e a t m m 21 e d r e 22 c e r c 23 e a n b 24 u [ .212524.2.214240.1