Las Cruces awarded SEED grant for low‑income home electrification; El Paso Electric, city and partners launch EV and community‑solar efforts

Las Cruces has won a state SEED award to pilot a low‑income residential electrification program and is coordinating with El Paso Electric and private partners on electric vehicle access, charging infrastructure and a community solar subscription, city and utility officials told the Water & Natural Resources Committee.

What was announced Jenny Hernandez, the city’s sustainability officer, said the “Plugged In for Good” SEED project will combine light weatherization, heat‑pump space conditioning, ventilation/indoor‑air improvements and energy navigation services to help low‑ and moderate‑income households lower bills and improve safety. The city plans to pair participants with an “energy navigator” to ensure they access state rebates (the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department’s residential heat‑pump rebates can be up to $8,000) and a community‑solar subscription from an awarded developer, Affordable Solar.

El Paso Electric programs and timelines Angie Rodriguez of El Paso Electric described the utility’s transportation electrification portfolio and customer‑focused incentives: rebates for residential EV chargers and e‑bikes, turnkey charger installation programs for apartment complexes, and a managed‑charging approach to shift charging to off‑peak hours. EPE said it has roughly 1,500 electrified vehicles in its service territory (up from about 500 in 2021) and offers low‑income EV incentives including a $4,000 purchase incentive, and up to $1,300 for installation of a 240‑volt outlet plus $500 for a home charger in some programs.

EPE and the city are planning a car‑share pilot using electric vehicles that officials said would launch this fall with two Chevy Bolt vehicles and an hourly rental model.

Community solar and risks Lucas Herndon of Progress Now New Mexico briefed the committee on community solar activity in the Dona Ana/EPE service area. Regulators and developers have approved or proposed multiple community‑solar projects — about six projects totaling roughly 30 megawatts in the EPE area — which would provide subscribers a bill credit (the city’s outreach material projects about a 28% credit for subscriber bills). Herndon cautioned that recent U.S. Treasury and federal guidance changes on investment tax credits could undermine the economics of some projects and put proposed builds at risk; he urged state contingency planning and possible bridge financing if federal incentives are not available as developers expected.

Equity and outreach City officials told the committee they will prioritize outreach and navigator support so eligible low‑income residents can combine SEED funds, state heat‑pump rebates and community‑solar subscriptions to reduce upfront costs. Affordable Solar is the awarded community solar developer; officials said the project will supply a bill credit (an estimated 28% credit to enrolled customers) and that the city has reserved subscriber slots for program participants.

Committee questions Committee members asked about current charging availability in Las Cruces, the pace of private investment in fast chargers, and whether subscription credits for community solar would shift costs to nonparticipating ratepayers. El Paso Electric said it has partnered with the city and DOT to put DC fast chargers at county sites and will seek grant funding to add more. Herndon said state law and commission rules govern how costs and credits are structured and that further legislative or regulatory work may be needed if federal incentives change.

Ending note Officials asked for continued support for programs and for clear policy signals as community solar and electrification scale. City and utility staff offered to provide committee members more technical details on program design and subscriber protections if the legislature wants to explore policy changes or state matching funds.