Committee clears grid modernization roadmap bill, adds schools and planning guidance for utilities
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Summary
House committee passed Senate Bill 142 to codify a grid modernization roadmap, expand grant eligibility to school districts and charter schools, and direct greater coordination between the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department and the Public Regulation Commission.
A House committee approved Senate Bill 142, a bill that directs the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) to coordinate with the Public Regulation Commission (PRC) on a statutory grid modernization roadmap and expands grant eligibility to include school districts and charter schools.
Representative Dixon, the House sponsor, told the committee the bill has four primary functions: requiring EMNRD to coordinate with the PRC on a roadmap; adding deployment speed as a consideration when assessing projects; making school districts and charter schools eligible for grant programs; and broadening the definition of grid modernization to explicitly include integration of net-zero resources and tools to detect or reduce methane leaks.
Industry and environmental groups offered support. Carlos Lucero of PNM (Public Service Company of New Mexico) said PNM supports SB142. Camilla Feibelman of the Sierra Club highlighted schools as logical candidates for solar and battery installations and noted school buses could in some cases serve as backup battery resources. Charles Goodbacher, representing Healthy Climate New Mexico, also testified in favor.
Toya Corey of the Public Regulation Commission participated as the PRC’s technical witness. Committee members asked whether the PRC had been consulted; Corey said the commission had reviewed and provided input before introduction. The PRC witness also told the committee the bill should not affect adjudicatory processes and that the commission already is working on distribution planning and grid modernization.
Several members raised policy questions. One lawmaker said they worried that modernization costs would be borne by current ratepayers for benefits to future customers; the PRC witness and sponsor said the bill does not change adjudicatory authority or adjudicated cost-recovery processes, and that existing proceedings and the commission’s distribution-planning efforts would continue to govern rate and cost questions.
After discussion, the committee recorded a roll-call vote and reported the bill with a do-pass recommendation.