SB 175: UTILITY COMPANY FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL
An Act Relating To Utilities; Enacting A New Section Of The Public Utility Act To Provide For A Public Utility Or A Generation And Transmission Cooperative To Have First Right To Construct, Own And Maintain Certain Transmission Facilities In A Regional Transmission Plan
Add to My Bills
MOD
SB 175
UTILITY COMPANY FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL
- Legislative URL:
- SB 175 on nmlegis.gov
- Emergency Clause:
- No
- Germane:
- N/A
- Location:
- - OTHER -
- Action:
- [2] SCONC/SJC-SCONC [19] DNP-CS/DP-SJC API.
- Issue(s):
- Energy
Companion Bills
Related Legislators
- Bill Sponsor:
- Carroll Leavell
Related Documents
- Downloads:
-
Introduced
SCONC Committee Report
SCONC Committee Substitute
Fiscal Impact Report
R&HW Interim Committee Minutes
Summary
Senate Bill 175 provides that a public utility or a generation and transmission cooperative has the right of first refusal “to construct, own and maintain” certain transmission facilities. The right of first refusal applies to electric transmission facilities that are eligible for cost allocation through an approved regional planning process or have been approved for construction by a regional transmission planning authority. The right of first refusal is available to the public utility or transmission cooperative with which the transmission facility will interconnect. If the transmission facility will interconnect with more than one public utility or transmission and generation cooperative, those entities will determine which among them will have the right of first refusal. If they are unable to come to agreement they will each build, construct and own their own facility and its equal share of the segment.
On February 20, 2013, the SCONC adopted a substitute that limits the circumstances in which a public utility has the right of first refusal as follows:
- The definitions of “electric transmission facility” and “transmission facility” are amended to exclude transmission facilities funded exclusively by the participant(s) in the facility and for which there has been no request for regional cost allocation.
- The facility subject to the right of first refusal must also (in addition to being eligible for regional cost allocation) be “designated by a regional transmission planning authority as needed for purposes such as . . . maintaining reliability and sharing reserves, production cost savings and congestion relief, and meeting public policy requirements.”
- The public utility exercising the right of first refusal must file an application with the NM Public Regulation Commission within 18 months for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, if otherwise required by law, and if the application is not filed, the right of first refusal is waived.
One concern with the original bill might have been that the new law might give an unfair advantage to public utilities in constructing these facilities. The substitute may partially address that potential concern by adding additional requirements and excluding certain facilities.
Date of Summary: 1/22/2013, Updated 2/21/2013