45th LEGISLATURE: BILLS WITH POTENTIAL IMPACT ON ELECTRICITY
by Lance Adkins
In any legislative session, Farmers' Electric watches with interest any number of legislative proposals with the potential to impact the members/consumers we serve. It is difficult for small companies, like Farmers' Electric, to be personally informed and actively participate with every piece of proposed legislation when hundreds of Bills are introduced each year. To be effective, Farmers' Electric works with sixteen other electric distribution cooperatives through an association, the New Mexico Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NMRECA), headquartered in Santa Fe. Staff from NMRECA follows the legislative process as it occurs, and when necessary, contacts the member cooperatives when our input and presence is needed. This strategy is very effective in communicating ideas and concerns to legislators and minimizes the cost of participating in the legislative process. There were a number of Bills we were watching closely, and other Bills were significantly similar to the ones listed below.
House Bill 143, House Bill 373, and Senate Bill 46, An Act, relating to taxation; "including certain electricity generation in the definition of manufacturing for purposes of the investment credit act and for apportionment of business income for income tax purposes; providing for issuance of industrial revenue bonds for certain electricity generation facility projects in counties and municipalities repealing laws 2001, Chapter 57, Section 1 and laws 2001, Chapter 284, Section 3". For electrical purposes, this Bill provides for the issuance of industrial revenue bonds to support the construction of wholesale electric generation facilities in New Mexico. This legislation is seen as having the potential to "spark" new construction of electric generation capacity in New Mexico. This Bill did pass and has gone to the Governor for consideration.
House Bill 233, and Senate Bill 187, An Act, relating to taxation; "providing a renewable energy production tax credit; making an appropriation". This Bill is designed to foster the development of large-scale renewable electric generation facilities. Large-scale is defined as twenty-megawatts or greater, producing electricity with zero-emissions technology, and possessing long-term production potential. Qualifying facilities would be eligible for tax credits of 1 cent per kilowatt-hour produced over a ten-year period. State and Federal tax credits are seen as critical in the development of renewable energy production facilities. This Bill did pass and has gone to the Governor for consideration.
House Bill 378, An Act, "relating to public utilities; repealing the delayed repeal of the Public Utility Act". The Public Utility Act was slated to be repealed effective July 1, 2003, and if signed, this Bill would remove the Public Utility Act from a list of Acts currently scheduled for repeal. This Bill died in committee.
Senate Bill 303, An Act, "relating to the Public Regulation Commission; extending the deadline for review of rules". In January 1999, a number of regulatory agencies, including the Corporation Commission, Insurance Board, Fire Board and the Public Utility Commission, were combined to form the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. In addition, they were tasked to review all current rules by July 1, 2003. This Bill would extend that date to July 1, 2004, and its consideration reflects the tremendous task associated with merging the previous regulatory agencies. This Bill died in committee.
Senate Bill 326, An Act, "making an appropriation for the forestry division to access the feasibility of using biomass from salt cedar removal and watershed restoration projects for electric power generation". This Bill would appropriate $300,000 to study the feasibility of using biomass from salt cedar and other woody vegetation removal to generate electricity. Much of the vegetation of concern is not native to the middle Rio Grande valley, Pecos river valley and the northern upland rangelands. Non-native species are known to have a significant negative impact on water levels in these regions. It is anticipated this Act would reduce pressure on the water systems by restoring native plant species, with less water use requirements. Waste from the restoration process would be burned in small-scale electric generating stations producing electricity in close proximity to the vegetation removal sites. This Bill died in committee.
Full text versions of all Bills introduced in the 45th Legislature can be viewed online at http://legis.state.nm.us.
Lance Adkins is the General Manager of Farmers' Electric Cooperative in Clovis, New Mexico, providing electrical service to approximately 10,500 meters in New Mexico.
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