If you’re a PNM customer, check the line item on your bill titled “San Juan ETA Settlement Credit” for a credit of around $9. The credits come as compensation for PNM’s delay in issuing Energy Transition bonds to refinance debt customers had been paying for San Juan Generating Station. Instead of issuing the low-interest bonds when the coal plant closed, PNM continued to collect its 10% rate of return on the debt from customers. The Public Regulation Commission in 2022 ordered PNM to credit customers to reflect the savings the bonds would have brought, but PNM appealed and won a stay at the state Supreme Court.
Energy Transition Act Delivers $115 Million Back to PNM Customers
PNM agreed today to deliver $115 million back to PNM customers in a settlement agreement with advocacy groups. These savings come from switching from expensive coal to solar with battery storage and from expected savings from Energy Transition Act bonds. PNM should have issued bonds when the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station closed in September. The bonds were meant to refinance PNM’s previous investments in the plant that customers would otherwise still have to pay off after the plant was no longer producing electricity.
NM Supreme Court Rules ETA Constitutional
The New Mexico Supreme Court today rejected New Energy Economy’s challenges to the constitutionality of the Energy Transition Act (ETA) and upheld the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) decision relating to the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station. These rulings end months of delays in sending transition funds to communities and issuing bonds that will reduce customer costs.
PNM cites ETA in proposing 100% solar and storage to replace nuclear
After announcing it would drop one of its leases in the Palo Verde Nuclear plant last year, this month PNM proposed replacing the energy with 100% solar and battery. In support of its proposal, PNM cited the Energy Transition Act’s requirements and the Public Regulation Commission’s decision last year to choose a 100% solar/storage proposal rather than PNM’s favored gas-inclusive replacement scenario for San Juan Generating Station coal. The replacement proposal will need to be approved by the commission.
PRC cites ETA in rejecting El Paso Electric gas expansion
On December 16, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission unanimously denied El Paso Electric’s request to build a 228-MW natural-gas generator, citing EPE’s failure to consider the requirements of the Energy Transition Act.
PRC approves 100% solar/storage replacement for San Juan coal
For immediate release: July 29, 2020 Today, a coalition of Four Corners community and tribal organizations, conservationists, business, and social justice groups praised the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission for approving a suite of renewable-energy investments, including 300 megawatts of
Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter statement on Supreme Court ruling on the Energy Transition Act
Our members and supporters have worked hard to ensure a speedy transition to renewables in the light of the climate crisis and a just transition for workers and communities as the coal economy collapses. The Energy Transition Act represented an innovative path forward supported by the public, the legislature, the Governor, the Navajo Nation, and now the Supreme Court.
Breaking: Supreme Court rules that Energy Transition Act applies
On January 29, the New Mexico Supreme Court made a quick and unambiguous ruling that the Public Regulation Commission must apply the law of the land – last year’s landmark Energy Transition Act — to PNM’s case to retire San Juan coal plant.
Landmark Energy Transition Act passes NM Legislature!
On Tuesday March 12, the New Mexico State House passed SB489, the Energy Transition Act, sending this landmark legislation to Gov. Michelle Lujan-Grisham’s office. Nearly 1,000 New Mexico Sierra Club supporters contacted their legislators in support of this life-saving and economy-fueling legislation.
Energy Transition Act Playlist
View Camilla’s videos explaining the Energy Transition Act on Facebook.