“Clean Fuel” Standard to take effect April 1

Nearly two years after the New Mexico Legislature adopted it the State’s so-called “Clean Fuel Standard” is set to start on April 1, 2026. Legislation imposing the Clean Fuel Standard on New Mexico was passed two years ago during the 2024 30-day session. It took nearly two years to formulate the regulations, but those rules will finally start being implemented on April Fools Day (of course). While implementation of the standard was delayed somewhat, the Rio Grande Foundation did a full analysis of the issue and its impact on fuel prices.

Based on experience with a similar mandate in Oregon, the Foundation expects New Mexico gas prices to rise by 5 cents a gallon initially and topping out at a 30 cent-per-gallon increase once the law is fully implemented.