PNM will soon be holding a series of meetings statewide, including your community to determine whether the utility can raise rates yet again. While we at the Rio Grande Foundation do not in principle support bureaucratic controls over entities acting in a free economy, but the fact is that PNM does not act in a free economy. For starters, there is a renewable mandate which PNM has supported: see this recent op-ed on New Mexico’s renewable energy mandate which unnecessarily raise costs. PNM has also supported cap-and-trade at the federal level.
Rates have gone up by 24 percent in the past three years, but PNM wants another rate increase!
If you can show up at one of these meetings in your community to express opposition to the increase and PNM’s acquiescence to ever-increasing demands on the part of environmentalists.
PLEASE read the message from PNM, then find the community meeting close to you and plan to attend! If you can attend more than one meeting, that’s great, too!
Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm to turn New Mexico around!
This is the message from PNM:
Energy Future – Together!
The electricity PNM sells its consumers comes from a wide range of sources: coal, natural gas, nuclear, and renewables like wind and solar. We also have aggressive energy efficiency programs that help offset the need to build new power sources. The amounts of power PNM gets from one source versus another affects the environment and the costs consumers pay for electricity.
Should the utility try to change the amounts of renewables, coal, nuclear or natural gas in its mix?
To what degree are consumers willing to pay more for a different combination of power sources?
What role should efficiency programs play in NM’s energy future?
These are among the tough questions PNM needs people like you to help answer. PNM will address these issues in our Integrated Resource Plan. We welcome and encourage the public to participate
and to help us plan your energy future – together.
Please join us for the public forum nearest you.
Alamogordo
Thursday, July 15, 2010
First National Bank of Alamogordo – Atrium Room
414 10th St.
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Albuquerque
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Albuquerque Public Schools headquarters – John Milne Community Board Room
6400 Uptown Blvd. NE
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Clayton
Monday, July 12, 2010
Clayton Civic Center
124 N. Front Street
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Deming
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Morgan Hall, City of Deming offices,
109 East Pine Street
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Los Lunas
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Village of Los Lunas Council Chambers
660 W. Main St.
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Las Vegas
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
N.M. Highlands University –
Sala de Madrid Room
801 University Ave.
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Rio Rancho
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Loma Colorado Main Library
755 Loma Colorado Drive NE
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Ruidoso
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Village of Ruidoso Council Chambers
313 Cree Meadows Drive
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Silver City
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Grant County Commission Offices
1400 Highway 180 East
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Paul, thanks for the posting. We do welcome all customers to the meetings as we think a diversity of opinion will give us a stronger public participation process and a better result.
We do, however, want to point out that the upcoming community meetings are not “to determine whether the utility can raise rates yet again,” as you write.
The meetings are intended to kick off a year-long discussion regarding what energy sources will serve us in the next few decades. We do this every 3 years. Yes, cost is a factor in that discussion. As are reliability, being more sustainable for the future and a variety of other factors.
Our pending electric rate request, which addresses only electricity requirements through 2011, is a separate and very specific proceeding. The N.M. Public Regulation Commission, which sets our rates, will hold a public hearing in December. Customers can submit written comments to the PRC or, typically, have an opportunity to speak at the beginning of the hearing.
Thanks again for mentioning the meetings. We hope customers will attend.
Don Brown
PNM Corporate Communications
I did attend the Albuquerque meeting and learned that PNM has been asked to provide 6 MW of power, but transmission lines are needed to carry the power out of state. Fortunately, our Governor is acting on this matter of transmission lines, which are delayed endlessly by environmentalists protesting losing their views and property owners wanting to get rich on the power line towers on their property. At this point new solar/wind facilities can be built in less than two years, but the transmissions lines can drag out to five years or so. Ask Boone Pickens about getting approval for transmission lines in TX.
PNM would be a much better company if it could enter the business of providing Clean/Renewable energy to energy starved areas such as Southern CA.
Paul, I attended PNM’s Integrated Resource Plan last week in Los Lunas. They clearly would not discuss rate increases. Maybe I’m just dense, but I could not figure out the purpose of these meetings. Their questions were strange; i.e. which would you rather have, more water usage from nuclear power, or less water usage and more renewable energy (I didn’t write the questions down so that may not be exact). But their questions which they insisted we answer, were like “When did you quit beating your wife?” (there was no good answer).
I did sign up for their “working groups” beginning Sept. 1. The groups will meet first Weds. of every month thru June, 2011 at PNM Hdqrts. in Alvarado Square. Maybe I will be able to see their point, but in my opinion, it was just PR to make us feel better about the upcoming ridiculous rate increases.
No matter anybody’s opinion, PNM is going to make the rate-payers pay for their foray into renewable energy. And they are in favor of Cap and Trade because they stand to make billions of dollars if it passes. Need to talk with you some about PNM’s relationship with the EIB.