New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 17 - PUBLIC UTILITIES AND UTILITY SERVICES
Chapter 5 - UTILITY INTERCONNECTIVITY AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS
Part 440 - EXTENSIONS, SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS, REPAIRS OR REPLACEMENTS, ADDITIONS, AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS BETWEEN OR AMONG UTILITIES
Section 17.5.440.8 - ELECTRIC UTILITIES
Universal Citation: 17 NM Admin Code 17.5.440.8
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A. Report requirements for extensions, system improvements, repairs or replacements, or additions:
(1) A public utility shall, prior
to making any of the following described extensions, system improvements,
repairs or replacements, or additions as set forth in Subparagraphs (a) through
(e) of 17.5.440.8 NMAC below, file a
report with the commission setting forth the character of the undertaking, the
purpose sought thereby to be accomplished, the means by which that purpose is
intended to be realized, the estimated costs involved in the employment of
those means, the data upon which the engineering and economic feasibility of
the undertaking is based, any reasonable alternatives to the proposed
undertaking that have been considered, any system upgrades that may be needed
due to the undertaking, and, if Subparagraph (a) of
17.5.440.8 NMAC below is
applicable, the name or names of the utility or utilities toward which the
proposed extension is to be made.
(a) Any
extension, of any electric facility outside the limits of a municipality to a
point within one-half mile of the facilities of any other utility or utilities
rendering electric service.
(b) Any
extension, system improvement, repairs or replacements, or addition to any
transmission or distribution line, plant, facility, or system, exclusive of
generating facilities, which will have an estimated cost to the utility under
the uniform system of accounts of $1,000,000 or more on a total company basis
and for which the utility intends to seek rate recovery from its New Mexico
customers, regardless of the location of the line, plant, facility, or system.
(i) In calculating the estimated cost, the
utility shall include the cost of any system upgrades that are directly related
to, or required as a result of, such addition, repair or replacement, or system
improvement.
(ii) The estimated
cost shall be reasonable and proposed in good faith.
(c) Any addition to, or repair or replacement
of, or improvement of, any electric generating facility which will have an
estimated cost to the utility under the uniform system of accounts of
$2,000,000 or more on a total company basis and for which the utility intends
to seek rate recovery from its New Mexico customers, regardless of the location
of the electric generating facility.
(i) In
calculating the estimated cost, the utility shall include the cost of any
system upgrades that are directly related to, or required as a result of, such
addition, repair or replacement, or system improvement.
(ii) The estimated cost shall be reasonable
and proposed in good faith.
(d) Substantial system characteristic
improvements involving a change in operating voltage of electric lines.
Substantial system characteristic improvements involving reconductoring,
rephasing (addition or deletion of phases) of electric lines resulting in a
length of two miles or more. System improvements of an overall or system wide
nature shall be submitted to the commission as an overall plan.
(e) Any extensions, system improvements,
repairs or replacements, or additions for which the public utility claims or
intends to claim safe harbor under
17.9.592.15 NMAC that have an
estimated cost to the utility under the uniform system of accounts of
$1,000,000 or more on a total company basis and for which the utility intends
to seek rate recovery from its New Mexico customers, regardless of the location
of the undertaking.
(i) In calculating the
estimated cost, the utility shall include the cost of any system upgrades that
are directly related to, or required as a result of, such extension, system
improvement, repair or replacement, or addition.
(ii) The estimated cost shall be reasonable
and proposed in good faith.
(2) The report is for informational purposes
and shall not constitute nor be deemed to constitute an application by the
utility for authority to engage in the reported undertaking.
(3) Reports shall include sufficient
information to enable the commission to appropriately relate the proposed
extension, system improvement, repair or replacement, or addition to maps of
existing facilities.
(4) The
utility shall file reports on forms to be furnished by the commission and shall
be numbered serially.
B. The commission shall not be precluded from requiring the filing of further information by the reporting utility with respect to its proposed undertaking.
C. Filing and service procedures:
(1) The utility shall file a
report at least 30 days prior to the commencement of construction of the
extension, system improvement, repair or replacement, or addition, except in
the event of unplanned emergency undertakings, in which case the report shall
be filed not more than 30 days after the onset of the emergency.
(2) Upon the utility's filing of a report,
commission utility division staff shall review the report and notify by email
the utility, office of general counsel, and the individual commissioners of
statutory, regulatory, or feasibility issues, if any, within a reasonable time
prior to the commencement of construction, or within a reasonable time
following the filing of a report on an unplanned emergency
undertaking.
(3) Where a utility is
required to file a report with the commission pursuant to Subparagraph (a) of
Paragraph (1) of Subsection A of
17.5.440.8 NMAC, the utility
shall, at the time of filing its report with the commission, serve a copy of
the filed report on the utility or utilities toward whose facilities the
extension is proposed to be made.
(a) Proof
of service of such copy shall be made and filed with the commission under the
certificate of the person making the service.
(b) If the service is made by mail, it shall
be made by certified mail with return receipt requested, it shall include the
corresponding 440 filing number, and the return receipt shall be filed with the
commission with the proof of service.
(c) Thereafter, no complaint by a utility in
opposition to the proposed extension will be entertained by the commission
unless filed with the commission by the opposing utility within 20 days of its
receipt of the served copy of the report.
(d) The provisions of this section will be
waived whenever the commission is furnished proof in writing that the utility
toward whose facilities the extension is proposed to be made has no
complaints.
(4) A public
utility shall notify each individual commissioner by email when it files a
report or amended report with estimated or actual costs of $8,000,000 or more
on a total company basis.
D. Duty to amend report:
(1) Prior to any request for rate recovery
for the undertaking, the utility shall amend a report to update the
undertaking's estimated costs, if the estimates increased or decreased by
greater than twenty percent, and to reflect the utility's actual costs incurred
for that undertaking.
(a) In its amended
report, the utility shall provide explanations for why its initial estimated
costs were inaccurate and why its actual costs fell below or exceeded its
estimated costs.
(b) The amended
report shall be included with the utility's request for rate
recovery.
(2) The utility
shall amend a report to accurately reflect the undertaking's materially altered
character or purpose, or if the utility pursues a reported alternative,
pursuant to Paragraph (1) of Subsection A of
17.5.440.8 NMAC, at least 30 days
prior to the commencement of construction of the extension, system improvement,
repair or replacement, or addition. If a utility files an amended report
pursuant to this Paragraph, commission utility division staff shall follow the
procedures of Paragraph (2) of Subsection C of
17.5.440.8 NMAC
above.
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