El Paso Electric plans to go to a smart, automated customer metering system beginning in 2023 in Texas and New Mexico under a proposal recently filed with Texas regulators.
The smart meters will allow the company to read electric meters, and start or stop electricity remotely from a central location, and remake its rate structure to reduce electric usage at peak hours based on meter-generated data.
The system, to cost $157 million in Texas, will be paid for mostly through customer bill surcharges lasting 12 years for residential customers and five years for other customer classifications, under the company s Texas proposal. It has yet to file its New Mexico plan.
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Recently, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission voted to end the yearlong COVID moratorium on shutting off electricity starting as soon as August 12
th for PNM customers. The moratorium had been a temporary emergency pandemic measure designed to help customers at the start of the pandemic. According to a release, the utility moratorium on disconnects prevented customers from having their electricity disconnected due to non-payment, however, customers are still responsible for paying the energy they have used which has resulted in past-due bills stacking up over the months. “As of May 7, approximately 43,413 residential customers, about 8 percent of 530,000 total PNM customers, are past-due on their PNM bill with an average past-due amount of $469 per customer.” Customers that require help paying past-due PNM bills may visit PNM.com/help or call 855-364-2950.
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Record of CMP’s parent company spurs concerns about utility merger in New Mexico
Avangrid has been less than forthcoming with New Mexico regulators, says a hearing examiner with the state s Public Regulation Commission.
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYANAssociated Press
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. The track record of global energy giant Iberdrola’s U.S. subsidiary Avangrid has sparked concerns among utility regulators and others as the company seeks approval for a multibillion-dollar merger with New Mexico’s largest electric provider.
Ashley Schannauer, a hearing examiner with the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, said during a meeting Tuesday that utilities owned by Avangrid have been assessed a total of $25 million in penalties and disallowances in the past 16 months for poor performance and customer service issues in Maine, Connecticut and New York.