Sierra Electric Cooperative
NOTICE: Advice Notice No. 68 General Manager Denise Barrera
Sierra Electric Cooperative Inc. (“Sierra” or “Cooperative”) hereby provides notice of its filing with the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (“Commission”) on or around June 1, 2020 of proposed rate schedules, under Advice Notice No. 68, to modify its Third Revised Rate No. 6—Fees and Charges—to update fees and charges to reflect the costs incurred by Sierra for service calls and other charges incurred to serve the members.
Address 610 Highway 195 • P.O. Box 290 Elephant Butte, NM 87935
Sierra’s tariffs governing fees and charges to members for services are being updated and consolidated into fewer rates to recover the costs incurred by Sierra to provide service. Several outdated fees are being replaced or consolidated into a new set of fees that are reflective of the costs to provide services to Sierra members.
Telephone 575-744-5231 Outages 888-336-3380 Fax 575-744-5819 Email sierra@secpower.com Website www.sierraelectric.org Office Hours 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (M-F) Board of Trustees President John Bokich, Elephant Butte, District 2 Vice President Thomas Stroup, Elephant Butte, District 2 Secretary Charles McMath, Elephant Butte, District 2 Treasurer George Biel, Monticello, District 3 Dennis Franklin Williamsburg, District 1 Tami Garrett Las Palomas ,District 3 Judy Smith Caballo, District 1 Darryl Sullivan Monticello, District 3 Oscar Lee Wood Elephant Butte, District 2 Board Meeting
The Board of Trustees meets the third Friday of the month at 8:30 a.m. in the Cooperative boardroom.
As Sierra has switched to an AMI system for reading meters it is no longer necessary to be at the customer premises for disconnect, intermittent service disconnect and reconnect of service. Accordingly, the current $50 charge for these services are being removed from the tariff and replaced by a new charge of $40 for any service order. Additionally, Sierra is proposing a single Trip Charge fee of $50 for all service orders, instead of different fees based upon the service being provided. An additional fee of $25 will be charged if the service call is to address an outage caused by the member’s side of the meter and not through the fault of Sierra or its facilities. Finally, a fee of $35 will be charged for any payments that are returned to Sierra by the member’s bank or financial institution for non-sufficient funds. This update to Sierra’s Third Revised Rate No. 6 is being proposed solely to allow the Cooperative to recover costs incurred by the Cooperative to provide services to the members and to avoid having any member subsidize other members causing the Cooperative to incur the costs. I. Amount of Increase The requested rate change will modify the rates of Sierra to more accurately reflect the costs to serve members. The costs for disconnect and reconnect of service are decreasing, while other costs for a returned check are increasing to reflect standard business practices and costs in such circumstances. In lieu of a variety of specific costs Sierra will have a standard Trip Charge for service during business hours and a surcharge for service trips after business hours. II. Customer Classes to Which the New Rates Apply The proposed rate changes will affect Sierra Third Revised Rate No. 6. The present and proposed rates that are being changed or modified are: Current Rate No. 6 Proposed Rate No. 6
Connect Fee Collection Fee Reconnect Fee (business hours) Reconnect Fee (non-business hours) Intermittent Service Disconnect Fee Office Transfer Charge Returned Check Charge Meter Test Fee Meter Tampering Charge
$50.00 Service Order (business hours) $40.00 $50.00 Trip Charge (business hours) $50.00 $50.00 Trip Charge (non-business hours) $75.00 $70.00 Service Customer-Owned Facilities $25.00 $50.00 $10.00 $15.00 Returned Check Fee $35.00 $25.00 $150.00 first offense/ Meter Tampering Charge $150.00 first offense/ $300.00 thereafter $300.00 thereafter
III. The Impact on Residential Customers Sierra does not anticipate any significant change in the cost impact to customers. The proposed fee schedule is simpler and easier for members to understand. Some charges are increasing and others decreasing to reflect the change in cost for Sierra to provide services.
16 May 2020 • enchantment.coop
This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
