Utility manager updates: broadband CIP, hydropower generation, EV chargers and staffing

The Department of Public Utilities provided a multi-topic operations and planning update at the May 21 board meeting, covering broadband capital planning, hydropower generation, electrification planning, staffing, and several ongoing capital projects.

Broadband: Staff said the community broadband project has a planning-level capital cost of about $35 million with a contingency of roughly $5.6 million. Presenters warned that rock encountered during directional drilling could consume contingency funds if drilling encounters unusually hard conditions over a large share of the route; staff said the contingency assumes rock will be encountered up to about 50% of the time and explained possible alternate approaches (aerial attachment to DPU power lines) if drilling costs exceed contingency. The project is performing high-level design now and staff said low-level design is expected next year with construction anticipated around June 2026.

Hydropower generation and water conditions: Utility staff reported variable generation at county hydro plants. Abiquiu was producing about 5 megawatts earlier in the season but flows are dropping; El Vado produced around 2 megawatts the week before the meeting and was offline at the time of the update but staff expected it to return to service in a couple of weeks. Staff said the county anticipates roughly half of its San Juan–Chama allotment this year (about 600 acre-feet expected) and that drought conditions are affecting generation.

Electrification and fleet: Burns & McDonnell will present a draft electrification plan to the board in two weeks. Staff said they are coordinating that with Stantec on the fleet conversion study. The county has ordered six Level 2 ChargePoint chargers and is modifying parking to meet ADA requirements; staff also installed an internal RFID reader-controlled charger for dedicated county fleet use at the Pajarito Cliff site. DPU currently has four electric vehicles and two more are in next year’s budget.

Operations and staffing: DPU reported several new hires and interns (senior office specialist, power system operator apprentice, data analyst, four engineering interns) and ongoing recruitments for multiple technical roles. DPU also launched a pilot alternative work schedule for field crews (two groups on 4x10 schedules) and reported strong progress on Ski Hill waterline trenching with potential cost savings that may allow an expanded phase-2 mobilization while the heavy trenching equipment is on site. FEMA has requested information on an electrical undergrounding grant; staff submitted materials and expect comments back shortly.

Regional markets and partnerships: Staff discussed UAMPS membership considerations, potential participation in a day-ahead market (EDAM) and the need for resource adequacy planning to participate. Staff noted basic UAMPS membership is low cost ($620/year) but project or subscription participation requires higher development commitments (staff cited $15,529/year for an enhanced project team subscription). Staff also described outreach with PNM—the county’s balancing authority—and potential transmission availability issues affecting market participation.

Reporting and reliability metrics: Board members asked about the effect of third-party actions (for example, PNM preemptive shutoffs for wildfire risk) on utility reliability metrics such as SAIDI. Staff said such outages are not counted in the utility’s SAIDI (which measures distribution-system reliability) and committed to providing a separate chart including those major external outages so customers can see the total outage experience.

Ending: The board received the reports and asked staff to provide additional data, including historical hydropower production profiles and a separate reliability chart that includes externally caused outages. Several items will return for more detailed presentations, including the Burns & McDonnell electrification draft and additional broadband updates.