Dive Brief:
- Public Service Co. of New Mexico has asked state regulators to make a decision on the rate increase it proposed last year, citing the "extensive record established in this proceeding."
- PNM requested a rate increase of more than $123 million almost exactly a year ago, but the hearing examiner has recommended a $41 million increase, delaying a decision.
- State law allows the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission to suspend new rates up to 13 months, but regulators will need to make a decision by the end of September absent further extensions.
Dive Insight:
Parent company PNM Resources this week issued a statement saying the utility appreciates regulators' need to review staff's smaller rate proposal, but urged the commission to expedite its pending decision.
"While we appreciate the commission's willingness to address the implications of the Hearing Examiner's Recommended Decision, we cannot agree to further delays in the implementation of new rates," PNM Resources President, CEO and Chairman Pat Vincent-Collawn said in a statement issued by the company. "We believe that the extensive record established in this proceeding provides the Commission with a strong basis to make a balanced decision."
This is the second rate request from the company where regulators have balked. A year ago, the commission rejected a bid to impose solar fees and raise rates. But Vincent-Collawn said this time around, the record "clearly demonstrates that our actions were prudent and that our proposed valuations presented in the rate case are reasonable."
A copy of PNM's filing can be found here.
The utility has not had a rate increase since July 2011, and told regulators "it is important to mitigate its revenue deficiency as soon as possible through a final resolution of all of the rate issues pending before the Commission. This case already has a protracted history."The commission's suspension of new rates runs through Sept. 30, the maximum 13-months delay allowed under state law.
Last August, the utility requested an increase in electric rates of $123.5 million, including $2 million of fuel costs, which PNM said reflected a $655 million increase in rate base since its last base rate case filing in 2010. Earlier this month, the case's hearing examiner proposing an increase in non-fuel revenues of $41.3 million versus PNM's modified non-fuel request of $121.5 million.
