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Las Cruces reviews proposed 20-year El Paso Electric franchise with 1% fee increase
Summary
City officials at a Feb. 2025 work session reviewed a proposed 20-year franchise with El Paso Electric that would raise the franchise fee from 2% to 3% (a 1% pass-through), potentially adding roughly $900,000 to the city's general fund; no formal vote was taken and a first reading may be scheduled.
At a Las Cruces City Council work session in February 2025, city staff and El Paso Electric representatives reviewed a proposed 20-year franchise agreement that would raise the city's franchise fee on the utility from 2% to 3% and be subject to a statutory pass-through to customers.
The change would increase the fee by 1 percentage point; city staff said El Paso Electric collected and remitted almost $1.8 million to the city's general fund in fiscal year 2023 and estimated the additional 1% could yield about $900,000, depending on customer usage. Council did not take a formal vote on the franchise during the work session and staff said a first reading could be scheduled at a regular council meeting.
City utilities director Adrienne Whitmer summarized the agreement's background and key terms, saying the proposed franchise would run for 20 years…
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