As used in the Efficient Use of Energy Act:

A. "achievable" means those energy efficiency or load management resources available to the utility using its best efforts;

B. "commission" means the public regulation commission;

C. "cost-effective" means that the energy efficiency or load management program meets the utility cost test;

D. "customer" means a utility customer at a single, contiguous field, location or facility, regardless of the number of meters at that field, location or facility;

E. "distribution cooperative utility" means a utility with distribution facilities organized as a rural electric cooperative pursuant to Laws 1937, Chapter 100 or the Rural Electric Cooperative Act [Chapter 62, Article 15 NMSA 1978] or similarly organized in other states;

F. "energy efficiency" means measures, including energy conservation measures, or programs that target consumer behavior, equipment or devices to result in a decrease in consumption of electricity and natural gas without reducing the amount or quality of energy services;

G. "large customer" means a customer with electricity consumption greater than seven thousand megawatt-hours per year or natural gas use greater than three hundred sixty thousand decatherms per year;

H. "load management" means measures or programs that target equipment or devices to result in decreased peak electricity demand or shift demand from peak to off-peak periods;

I. "program costs" means the prudent and reasonable costs of developing and implementing energy efficiency and load management programs, but "program costs" does not include charges for incentives or the removal of regulatory disincentives;

J. "public utility" means a public utility that is not also a distribution cooperative utility; and

K. "utility cost test" means a standard that is met if the monetary costs that are borne by the public utility and that are incurred to develop, acquire and operate energy efficiency or load management resources on a life-cycle basis are less than the avoided monetary costs associated with developing, acquiring and operating the associated supply-side resources.

History: Laws 2005, ch. 341, § 4; 2008, ch. 24, § 5; 2013, ch. 124, § 1; 2013, ch. 220, § 1; 2019, ch. 202, 1.

The 2019 amendment, effective June 14, 2019, revised the definition of "utility cost test" as used in the Efficient Use of Energy Act; and in Subsection K, deleted "In developing this test for energy efficiency and load management programs directed to low-income customers, the commission shall either quantify or assign a reasonable value to reductions in working capital, reduced collection costs, lower bad debt expense, improved customer service effectiveness and other appropriate factors as utility system economic benefits."

The 2013 amendment, effective July 1, 2013, defined "program costs"; in Subsection C, after "program meets the", deleted "total resource" and added "utility"; added Subsection I; and in Subsection K, in the first sentence, at the beginning of the sentence, deleted "total resource" and added "utility", after "borne by the", added "public", and after "public utility", deleted "and the participants".

The 2008 amendment, effective May 14, 2008, added Subsections A and D and provided in Subsection J that the total resource cost test is met if the cost of energy efficiency or load management resources is less than the avoided costs of supply-side resources and that in developing programs directed to low-income customers, the commission shall qualify or assign a reasonable value to reductions of monetary and other factors as utility system economic benefits.