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Thursday, January 17, 2008

Editorial: PRC Should Step In On Supplier Rates

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    John Wheeler, general manager and CEO of Central New Mexico Electric Cooperative, says Tri-State Generation and Transmission has increased the amount charged the cooperative for electricity by about 53 percent since 2000.
    Some of those costs have been passed on to CNMEC's more than 17,000 customers in the Estancia Valley and the cooperative is trying other schemes— such as reducing the number of off-peak hours, which some CNMEC customers use to get a lower rate— to save its customers from the full impact of higher supplier electric rates.
    A lot of people say that's not working, though, and have asked Public Regulation Commissioner David King to take a look at it.
    King says that on the surface, it looks like customers are taking it in the shorts, and he wants to hold a hearing on the matter.
    Electric utilities are regulated by the PRC, so any time CNMEC wants to increase its rates, it must ask to do so. Tri-State, however, can raise its rates to utilities without so much as a second glance. Due to a state law passed several years ago, the only way to fight a Tri-State increase is to have three of its New Mexico customers get together and file a protest. During the last round of Tri-State rate hikes, the CNMEC board decided not to pursue a protest.
    King is right that a hearing needs to be held and the state Legislature needs to step forward and close this regulatory loophole.