General Manager
Joseph Herrera
Address
215 E. Manzanares Ave. P.O. Box H Socorro, NM 87801
Telephone 575-835-0560
Outages
800-351-7575 or 855-881-8159
Email service@socorroelectric.com
Website www.socorroelectric.com
Office Hours
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (M-F)
Board of Trustees
President
Leroy Anaya, District 3 anaya.district3@socorroelectric.com
Vice President
Ron Burnett, District 5 rburnett.district5@socorroelectric.com
Secretary/Treasurer
Eileen Latasa, District 2 latasa.district2@socorroelectric.com
Vacant District 4
Ward McCartney District 1 wmccartney.district1@socorroelectric.com
Kenneth Bowden District 3
bowden.district3@socorroelectric.com
Stephen Rosas District 3 rosas.district3@scoorroelectric.com
Board Meeting
What The New Mexico Supreme Court Ruling Means for SEC
On June 10, 2024, theNewMexicoSupreme Court (NMSC) Ruled that theNewMexicoPublicRegulatory Commission (NMPRC) could setrates that SECwouldhavetoabideby. TheCourt uphelda ruling set by theNMPRC. Thisruling affectsnot only the SEC but everyelectriccooperative utility in thestate.
What does thisruling mean forSECmoving forward? Not much, otherthan thefact that theNMPRCcanchangethe ratesproposed by a cooperative if the rates are protested. SECwill embrace thisruling andmoveforward becausewebelievein theregulatoryprocess.
Accordingto the Public Utility Act (PUA), rural electriccooperative rateswouldgo intoeffectimmediatelyunlessa certain numberof member protestswere filed. ThePUA rulesstate that once thenumber ofprotestshas been filed, theNMPRC"has authority todetermine whetheracooperative'sproposedratesarejust and reasonable."
TheNMSC ruled, "If theNMPRC finds those ratesare unreasonable, then theNMPRCmayfix just andreasonablerates for that cooperative."
WhileSECrelied onits outside, third-party, Cost-of-ServiceStudy to adjust andrecommend itsrate increases in question, SEC believed the rate requests were just and reasonable given theinformation provided by this study. TheCost-of-ServiceStudy provided toSEC suggested rate increases well above thoseSEC proposed to theNMPRC.
SEChasnothad arate increase since 2011. This ruling means that SECwillcontinue doing businessand providingits members with reliable, safe, and affordableelectricserviceunder theratesthe NMPRCset forSECin2019.
What doesthismean in the fight againstMayor Bhasker'scostlyand poorlythought-outplan tomunicipalize thecity'selectric grid? Again, notmuch.It wasnot a "win" forthecity. Itwas a judgment that the NMSCupheldin favor of theNMPRC.
Themayorhasstated that SECproposed the rateincreaseout of "greed."Thisisnot truein theslightest. Justlike all utilities, SECneeds toraiseratesinaccordancewithinflationand thecost ofkeepingthe lightson.
Unlike the city utilities, SEChas theNMPRC as a backstop to addressrateissuessuchasthese. If thecity municipalizes the electric utility, they can raiserates towhatevertheywant. They do nothave to produce a third-party Cost-of-Service Studyeither.Weadvise looking at yourgas bill for the past few wintersand seeinghow thecity has handled those rates.
