New Mexico Register / Volume XXXVII,
Issue 17 / September 9, 2026
TITLE 17 PUBLIC
UTILITIES AND UTILITY SERVICES
CHAPTER 9 ELECTRIC
SERVICES
PART 573 COMMUNITY
SOLAR
17.9.573.1 ISSUING
AGENCY: New Mexico public regulation
commission.
[17.9.573.1
NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.2 SCOPE: This rule applies to investor-owned electric utilities
subject to the commission’s jurisdiction and to rural electric distribution
cooperatives that opt into the community solar program. This rule also applies to subscriber
organizations and subscribers as defined in the Community Solar Act, Subsections
M and N of Section 62-16B-2 NMSA 1978.
[17.9.573.2
NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.3 STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Paragraph (10) of Subsection B of Section 62-19-9 and Section 62-16B-7 NMSA 1978.
[17.9.573.3 NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.4 DURATION: Permanent, unless otherwise
indicated.
[17.9.573.4
NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.5 EFFECTIVE DATE: September 9, 2026 unless a later
date is cited at the end of a section.
[17.9.573.5 NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.6 OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this rule are to implement the Community
Solar Act, Section 62-16B-1 et seq. NMSA 1978, and to reasonably allow
for the creation, financing and accessibility of community solar facilities.
[17.9.573.6 NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.7 DEFINITIONS: When used in this rule, unless
otherwise specified the following definitions shall apply:
A. Definitions beginning with “A”: [RESERVED]
B. Definitions beginning with “B”: [RESERVED]
C. Definitions
beginning with “C”: [RESERVED]
D. Definitions beginning with “D”:
[RESERVED]
E. Definitions beginning with “E”: [RESERVED]
F. Definitions beginning with “F”: Fuel and purchased power cost adjustment
clause means the existing fuel and
purchased power cost adjustment clause approved by the commission pursuant to
17.9.550 NMAC for all New Mexico electric utilities.
G. Definitions beginning with “G”: [RESERVED]
H. Definitions beginning with “H”: [RESERVED]
I. Definitions beginning with “I”: [RESERVED]
J. Definitions beginning with “J”: [RESERVED]
K. Definitions beginning with “K”: [RESERVED]
L. Definitions beginning with “L”: [RESERVED]
M. Definitions beginning with “M”: [RESERVED]
N. Definitions beginning with “N”: Net
bill credit means the remaining credit on a bill
rendered by an electric utility for electric service to a subscriber that is
participating in consolidated billing.
O. Definitions beginning with “O”: [RESERVED]
P. Definitions beginning with “P”: [RESERVED]
Q. Definitions beginning with “Q”: [RESERVED]
R. Definitions beginning with “R”: [RESERVED]
S. Definitions beginning with “S”:
(1) Savings rate means a percentage set by a subscriber organization for a
subscriber which represents the discount to the subscriber’s bill credit
allocation.
(2) Subscription charge means an amount charged by a subscriber organization to a subscriber
as a portion of the subscriber’s bill credit allocation.
T. Definitions beginning with “T”: [RESERVED]
U. Definitions beginning with “U”: [RESERVED]
V. Definitions beginning with “V”: [RESERVED]
W. Definitions beginning with “W”: [RESERVED]
X. Definitions beginning with “X”: [RESERVED]
Y. Definitions beginning with “Y”: [RESERVED]
Z. Definitions
beginning with “Z”: [RESERVED]
[17.9.573.7 NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.8 LIBERAL CONSTRUCTION:
If
any part or application of this rule is held invalid, the remainder of its
parts and any other applications of the rule shall not be affected.
[17.9.573.8
NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.9 UTILITY FILINGS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAM: Utilities shall file all tariffs, agreements and forms
necessary for implementation of the provisions of the most recent amendments to
this rule with the commission within 30 days of the effective date of the
amendments.
[17.9.573.9 NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.10 COMMUNITY SOLAR FACILITY REQUIREMENTS:
A. A community solar facility, excepting
any native community solar project, shall:
(1) have a nameplate capacity rating of
five megawatts alternating current or less;
(2) be located in the service territory of
the qualifying utility and be interconnected to the electric distribution
system of that qualifying utility;
(3) have at least ten subscribers;
(4) have the option to be co-located with
other energy resources, but shall not be co-located with other community solar
facilities;
(5) not allow a single subscriber to be
allocated more than forty percent of the generating capacity of the facility;
and
(6) make at least forty percent of the
total generating capacity of a community solar facility available in
subscriptions of 25 kilowatts or less.
B. At least thirty percent of
electricity produced from each community solar facility shall be subscribed by
low-income customers and low-income service organizations. The commission will issue guidelines to
ensure the carve-out is achieved each year and develop a list of low-income
service organizations and programs that may pre-qualify low-income customers.
[17.9.573.10 NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.11 STATEWIDE CAPACITY PROGRAM
CAPS:
A. The statewide capacity program
cap, effective November 1, 2024, is 300
megawatts alternating current.
This cap does not apply to applications and projects that have been
processed in the commission’s initial application selection process as such
applications and projects remain subject to the initial cap of 200
megawatts. The 300-megawatt cap will
apply to the first selection process to be conducted after November 1, 2024,
and will be in addition to the 200-megawatt cap applied to the initial
selection process, resulting in a total cap of 500 megawatts. The 300-megawatt cap is allocated among the
service territories of the three qualifying utilities according to addressable
market estimations, subject to further refinement, as follows:
(1) public service
company of New Mexico (PNM),
185 MW;
(2) southwestern public service company
(SPS), 70 MW; and
(3) El
Paso electric company
(EPE), 45 MW.
B. The commission may, at its discretion,
reallocate the capacity cap among the territories of the utilities to avoid a
significant shortfall of the capacity actually used vis-à-vis the capacity cap.
C. Beginning January 1, 2026, and
thereafter, the commission will review the statewide capacity program cap and
megawatt allocation amongst the qualifying utilities on a triennial basis.
D. All project waitlists established
under prior solicitations shall be vacated upon the opening of a new
solicitation’s bid window. Any vacated capacity from prior solicitations will
be added, on a rolling basis, to the capacity available under the most recent
solicitation.
E. Statewide capacity program caps
shall exclude native community solar projects and rural electric distribution
cooperatives.
[17.9.573.11 NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.12 PROCESS FOR SELECTION OF COMMUNITY
SOLAR FACILITIES:
A. The commission will engage a
third-party administrator to manage an unbiased and nondiscriminatory process
for the scoring and selection of proposed projects for building and operating
community solar facilities. Any
participant in the process may raise, by petition to the commission, an issue
that is not fully addressed in this rule and that the commission finds, in its
discretion, that it should address. This
selection process does not apply to any native community solar project.
B. The program administrator shall
develop, in consultation with public stakeholders, a framework for the
implementation of a competitive solicitation that includes detailed timeline
milestones and non-price factor criteria to be used by the program administrator
in evaluating eligible bids.
(1) The competitive solicitation
implementation framework and related documents must be submitted for public
review and input, and commission approval. Following commission approval, the program
administrator must conduct at least one public stakeholder meeting to present
the non-price factor evaluation criteria to potential bidders and respond to
questions concerning the application of the evaluation criteria to prospective
bids. Any changes to the non-price
factor evaluation criteria must be approved by the commission prior to being
implemented by the program administrator.
(2) The program administrator must create
a publicly-available resource to answer any and all stakeholder questions and
endeavor to ensure answers are posted promptly, in a searchable format. The program administrator will endeavor to use
consistent terminology and ensure its answers do not conflict. After the release of the competitive
solicitation documents, the publicly available resource will be the sole
location in which the program administrator will respond to questions received
regarding the competitive solicitation process or related documents. After the
release of the initial competitive solicitation framework, the program
administrator will not communicate with individual bidders through any other
means than the publicly available resource.
(3) The competitive solicitation
implementation framework shall be submitted to the commission for approval.
(1) the subscriber organization’s legally
binding site control or an executed short-term lease for a state land site;
(2) the subscriber organization’s
commitment to meeting statutory subscriber minimums and not exceeding statutory
maximums;
(3) the subscriber organization’s
completion of a utility pre-application report or an equivalent report by the
utility; and
(4) the subscriber organization’s payment
of a $500/MW non-refundable bid application fee to the commission.
D. The program administrator shall limit
the capacity of projects selected to proceed to the interconnection application
process by any one subscriber organization bidder and its affiliates to a
maximum total for such bids of thirty percent of the statewide capacity cap
allocated to the applicable utility prior to any unallocated capacity from
prior solicitations being rolled forward. Additionally, the total capacity of
awarded capacity for any bids initially submitted by one subscriber
organization and its affiliates shall not exceed twenty percent of the capacity
cap allocated to the applicable utility.
E. No utility shall use any information
provided in the interconnection application process or any information to which
the utility has superior access to gain an unfair advantage for itself or any
utility-affiliated bidder in the project scoring process.
F. Eligible bids shall be scored using
a set of non-price factors, with each factor weighted by the number of points awarded
to the factor, as follows:
(1) each bid shall be awarded to one of
the following categories pertaining to permitting status, each with its own
point weighting:
(a) a bid for which all necessary
non-ministerial permits and approvals have been secured, based upon a
permitting plan signed by a licensed engineering firm, shall be categorized as
fully permitted and shall be awarded 15 points:
(b) a bid for which applications are
pending for all necessary non-ministerial permits, or for which one or more
permits have been granted and applications are pending for the remainder, based
upon permitting plan signed by a licensed engineering firm, shall be
categorized as partially permitted and shall be awarded 10 points; or
(c) a bid for which all necessary
non-ministerial permits have been identified and applied for but not granted, based
upon a permitting plan signed by a licensed engineering firm, shall be
categorized as permits pending and shall be awarded five points.
(2) each bid shall be assigned to one of
the following categories pertaining to financing status, each with its own
point weighting:
(a) a bid for which financing has been
secured, whether in the form of an executed commitment letter from the project
financier(s) or in the form of written confirmation of executive-level approval
for internal financing, shall be categorized as financing secured and shall be
awarded five points; or
(b) a bid for which financing has not been
secured but for which a detailed and feasible financing plan has been prepared
shall be categorized as financing planned and shall be awarded two points.
(3) each
bid shall be awarded points for having one or both of the following attributes
concerning the proposed project site’s viability for interconnection, with the
attributes being additive, not exclusive, for a range of zero to five potential
points per bid:
(a) a
bid for which the proposed project site’s distance to the utility’s nearest
three-phase line is less than one mile, as demonstrated by the utility’s
pre-application report or convincing alternative evidence presented by the
bidder, shall be awarded two points; and
(b) a
bid for which the proposed project would interconnect to a line of voltage 12
kV or higher, as demonstrated by the utility’s pre-application report, shall be
awarded three points.
(4) each
bid shall be awarded points, in amounts as whole numbers and tenths of whole
numbers, such as 1.1 points, for including any, some, or all the following
commitments beyond what is required by the statute, with the commitments being
additive, not exclusive, for a range of zero to 26 potential points per bid:
(a) a
bid including a commitment to exceed the statutory thirty percent minimum level
of subscription of low-income customers and low-income service organizations
shall be awarded , points pro rata for a commitment above the thirty percent
minimum, up to a maximum of eight points for a commitment to a fifty percent
low-income subscription level for the proposed project;
(b) a
bid including a commitment to serve a specific percentage of direct-billed
residential low-income customers shall be awarded points pro rata, up to a
maximum of eight points for a commitment to forty percent of total project
capacity comprised of direct-billed, low-income customers for the proposed
project;
(c) a
bid including a commitment to refrain from imposing upon any potential
low-income customer or low-income service organization any up-front costs of
subscribing, a commitment to refrain from imposing upon any potential
low-income customer or low-income service organization any early termination
fee, and a commitment to refrain from requiring or ordering any credit check or
credit report for any low-income customer or low-income service organization,
shall be awarded two points; and
(d) a
bid including a commitment to provide an additional discount on the community
solar bill credit for any low-income customer or low-income service
organization, for a minimum period of five years, by including, with respect to
the solar bill credit as calculated and provided by the utility, a discount
from the subscriber organization to the subscriber in the amount of twenty to
thirty percent off the utility solar bill credit, shall be awarded four points
for a commitment of twenty percent and additional points pro rata, up to a
maximum of eight points for a commitment to a discount of thirty percent.
(5) each
bid shall be awarded points, for having any, some, or all of the following
attributes, with the attributes being additive, not exclusive, for a range of
zero to 36 potential points per bid:
(a) a
bid including a commitment to offer workforce training or educational
opportunities within the state shall be awarded six points;
(b) a
bid including a commitment to contract for engineering or construction services
performed directly by, and with compensation paid to, one or more resident New
Mexico businesses, including subcontractors, shall be ratably awarded points
based on the percentage of services committed to. Each ten percent of services shall yield one
point, up to ten points for one hundred percent of engineering or one hundred
percent construction services committed to; with a maximum of twenty available
points if the commitment is to one hundred percent of engineering services and one
hundred percent of constructions services performed directly by, and with
compensation paid to, one or more resident New Mexico businesses; and
(c) a
bid including a commitment to a minimum of fifty percent ownership of the
proposed facility by one or more New Mexico resident businesses for a minimum
of five years after the date of commercial operation shall be awarded five points
for the minimum fifty percent ownership, with an additional one point for each
additional ten percent of resident business ownership, for a maximum of ten
available points.
(6) each
bid shall be awarded points for having any, some, or all of the following
attributes concerning the proposed project site, with the attributes being
additive, not exclusive, for a range of zero to seven potential points per bid:
(a) a
bid for a project to be sited on a brownfield, built environment, or rooftop
shall be awarded two points;
(b) a
bid for a project to be sited on land owned by a municipal, county, or state
entity shall be awarded three points; and
(c) a
bid for a project that has received a favorable analysis from the department of
cultural affairs or a qualified independent expert shall be awarded two points.
(7) each
subscriber organization submitting a bid shall be categorized according to the
provisions of Section 13-1-21 NMSA 1978, as a resident business, Native
American resident business, resident veteran business, Native American resident
veteran business, or none of these, which status must remain in place until the
project bid has at least reached mechanical completion. For the purpose of scoring this category, the
subscriber organization itself, not its partners or subsidiaries, is considered
the “business”. Ownership structure
documentation demonstrating compliance with this subsection must be maintained
with the program administrator. Any sale, equity transfer, or assignment of the
subscriber organization to a non-resident entity prior to achieving mechanical
completion may result in penalties including the possible disqualification of
the project bid in question. Points shall be awarded according to the following
schedule:
(a) a subscriber organization that is a
resident business or Native American resident business shall receive seven
points.
(b) a
subscriber organization that is a resident veteran business or Native American
veteran resident business shall receive nine points.
G. The
program administrator shall score projects based upon these qualifications and
scoring criteria within each qualifying utility’s territory. Within 30 days of the completion of the
scoring process, the program administrator must publicly disclose the points
awarded to each scored bid for each category enumerated in Paragraphs (1) - (7)
of Subsection F of 17.9.573.12 NMAC.
(1) The
program administrator will select applications up to one hundred-fifty percent
of each utility’s pro-rata allocation of the solicitation capacity to proceed
to the interconnection application process. Should an application withdraw or
be withdrawn from the program, the administrator will select the next eligible
application to replace it, without regard to the thirty percent developer cap.
(2) Program
capacity will be allocated to each scored bid upon submission to the program
administrator of a fully executed interconnection agreement with the applicable
qualifying utility and the subscriber organization’s payment to the commission
of an application fee in the amount of $2,500 for each megawatt AC of nameplate
capacity the proposed facility is expected to have according to the fully
executed interconnection agreement. The
program administrator shall limit the total program capacity allocated to any
single subscriber organization and its affiliates’ bids to a maximum total of
twenty percent of the statewide capacity cap allocated to the applicable
qualifying utility prior to any unallocated capacity from prior solicitations
being rolled forward. This limitation
shall apply only to capacity allocated directly to a subscriber organization
for its own bidded projects. Capacity that is
subsequently acquired by a subscriber organization through the purchase or
transfer of bids or allocation from other non-affiliated subscriber
organizations may exceed this twenty percent limitation. Failure to pay the application fee within 30
calendar days of selection of the project will result in the project’s removal
from the program. This process shall
continue until the allocated capacity cap for each utility has been reached.
(3) The program administrator shall
maintain a publicly accessible record of all projects allocated capacity within
each utility’s service territory. This
project registry shall be updated on at least a weekly basis until the
allocated capacity cap for each utility has been reached.
(4) The program administrator may
decline to award capacity to a project that will interconnect to a portion of
the distribution grid at which there is insufficient load to offset the
additional generation to be provided by the project and which will require
additional point-to-point transmission service over a third-party system to a
separate portion of the utility’s distribution grid.
H. The
program administrator shall maintain a scoring list for each qualifying
utility.
I. A utility must consider
interconnection applications for community solar projects that have been
selected by the program administrator to proceed to the interconnection
application process and shall not consider interconnection applications for
community solar projects that have not been selected to proceed to the
interconnection application process. Among
the group of interconnection applications for community solar projects that
have been selected to proceed to the interconnection process by the
administrator or have replaced selected projects, a utility must prioritize
starting to review applications in the order of ranking by points awarded to
each project in the scoring process. When
projects are not on the same substation or feeder, a utility shall make
reasonable efforts to review interconnection applications for eligible
community solar projects in parallel rather than sequentially, in order to
avoid delays in project advancement.
J. If a scored project fails to meet
any mandatory engineering data deadline, fee submission requirement or
execution timeline set forth in 17.9.568 NMAC, the utility shall deem the
application withdrawn, adjust the queue order, and proceed with subsequent
applications without delay. The project
shall not be withdrawn if the execution delay is caused by utility-administered
engineering evaluations under 17.9.568 NMAC - Detailed Study Process,
unresolved technical disputes timely filed under 17.9.568.27 NMAC - Dispute
Resolution, or utility equipment procurement constraints.
K. A project under consideration for
program capacity may not submit an interconnection application prior to being
selected by the program administrator to proceed to the interconnection
application process.
L. Each
utility must provide a report to the program administrator on the status of the
community solar project interconnection queue as of January 1, April 1, July 1,
and October 1, no later than the 15th of each of those months, respectively. Such reports must include information on the
status of each scored community solar project that has made application with
respect to the following data, which the program administrator must post
publicly to the program website:
(1) project name;
(2) project Location / Circuit ID;
(3) subscriber Organization.
(4) project size (MWac);
(5) interconnection Review Status;
(6) permission to Operate Date;
(7) withdrawn Date (if applicable).
M. A
subscriber organization shall not make any modification to a scored project’s
bid commitments without the express, prior written approval of the program
administrator. Any modification executed
or implemented by a subscriber organization prior to receiving formal written
approval under this subsection may result in the revocation of the project’s
conditional capacity allocation, cancellation of its place in the utility
queue, and forfeiture of all paid fees. Any
modification approved by the program administrator under this subsection
remains subject to the utility’s independent engineering review under Subsection
E of 17.9.568.13 NMAC. If the utility
determines that the approved relocation or adjustment constitutes a material
modification that cancels or alters the project’s original interconnection
queue position, the subscriber organization must immediately report the
utility’s determination to the program administrator for a secondary capacity
review.
[17.9.573.12 NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.13 INTERCONNECTION AND ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS:
A. The commission may determine on a
case-by-case basis whether the cost of distribution system upgrades necessary
to interconnect one or more community solar facilities, including native
community solar projects, may be eligible for some form of cost-sharing:
(1) among subscriber organizations using
the same distribution facilities;
(2) among all ratepayers of the qualifying
utility via rate base adjustments; or
(3) among ratepayers of the same rate
class as subscribers to the community solar facility via a rate rider for that
class.
B. In making a determination that there
are public benefits to such a cost-sharing mechanism, the commission will
employ the analysis that the commission employs when considering cost sharing
or rate basing grid modernization projects as defined by Section 62-8-13 NMSA
1978, the Grid Modernization Act, to make a finding that the approved
expenditures are:
(1) reasonably expected to improve the
utility’s electrical system efficiency, reliability, resilience and security;
(2) reasonably expected to maintain
reasonable operations, maintenance and ratepayer costs;
(3) reasonably expected to meet energy
demands through a flexible, diversified and distributed energy portfolio;
(4) reasonably expected to increase access
to and use of clean and renewable energy, with consideration given to
increasing access to low-income subscribers and subscribers in underserved
communities; or
(5) designed to contribute to the
reduction of air pollution, including greenhouse gases.
C. The commission will consider approving
sharing of interconnection costs with non-subscribing ratepayers only to the
extent that the costs borne by such ratepayers are matched or exceeded by
demonstrable benefits to such ratepayers, so that there will be no
subsidization of interconnection costs by non-subscribing ratepayers.in
appropriate cases.
D. A utility may recover administrative
costs of carrying out its responsibilities concerning the community solar
program through a rate rider from which non-subscribing ratepayers are exempt. A utility may apply to the commission to
establish such a rider. Each utility
must publicly report to the program administrator details on actual
administrative costs and recovered costs via the administrative rate rider on
an annual basis. The program
administrator must publish and maintain all utility reports on the program
website.
[17.9.573.13 NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.14 REGISTRATION OF SUBSCRIBER ORGANIZATIONS:
A. The commission will issue a
registration form that each subscriber organization shall file with the
commission, that includes ownership and contact information, non-profit
registration, or proof of certification to operate in New Mexico, and a general
description of the project(s) proposed by the subscriber organization.
C. In addition to meeting the statutory minimum requirements,
each subscriber organization shall be required to materially fulfill their bid
commitments made in their community solar project application for which they
received points in the scoring process.
D. Subscriber organizations shall submit, on an annual basis,
a compliance attestation affirming that all such commitments remain in place or
have been materially fulfilled. This
attestation shall be submitted to the program administrator and signed by an
authorized representative of the subscriber organization until all commitments
have been fulfilled.
E. The program administrator or commission may, at its
discretion, review any subscriber organization’s compliance with their bid
commitments or program requirements. Any
material failure to fulfill their bid commitments or program requirements
without prior program administrator or commission approval may result in fines
and other penalties up to and including suspension or revocation of the
subscriber organization’s authorization to operate, in accordance with Subsection
A of Section 62-16B- 7 NMSA 1978.
[17.9.573.14
NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.15 SPECIAL SUBSCRIBER PROVISIONS:
A. Low-income
customers who are eligible to meet the thirty percent carve out of Paragraph
(3) of Subsection B of Section 62-16B-7 NMSA 1978 may be pre-qualified based on
participation in any of the following programs (to the extent that they are
still active), as well as additional programs identified by commission staff. A low-income customer may demonstrate
participation in pre-qualified programs through signing a self-attestation of
participation in one of the following programs:
(1) medicaid;
(2) supplemental nutrition assistance program
(SNAP);
(3) low-income home energy assistance program
(LIHEAP);
(4) participants, within the last year, of first-time homeowner
programs and housing rehabilitation programs;
(5) living in a low-income/affordable
housing facility;
(6) state and federal income tax credit
programs that have relevant low-income tax requirements;
(7) section 8 housing choice voucher
program;
(8) food distribution program on Native
American reservations (FDPIR);
(9) temporary assistance for needy families
(TANF);
(10) the special supplemental nutrition program
for women, infants, and children (WIC);
(11) tribally- administered temporary assistance
for needy families (TTANF); or
(12) federal weatherization assistance program.
B. An
entire multi-family affordable housing project may prequalify its entire load as a low-income
subscriber.
C. A
customer who does not qualify
under subpart A may qualify
as a low-income subscriber
by signing a self-attestation that the customer’s income and household size
qualify the customer as a low-income subscriber.
D. Low-income service organizations need only fit the special
definition of this term provided
in the community solar act,
Subsection H of Section 62-16-2 NMSA 1978.
E. A subscriber organization must
initially certify to the program administrator that the subscriber organization
has complied with the thirty percent-low-income-subscription requirement and
must recertify on an annual basis. The
annual recertification requires that each subscriber organization certify that
it is in compliance with the low-income subscription requirement for each
facility owned by the subscriber organization, by providing a certification to
the program administrator in a form to be provided by the program
administrator. The subscriber
organization shall provide the certification to the program administrator in
January of each year, certifying that the low-income subscription requirement
was fulfilled as of December 31st of the previous calendar year. The subscriber organization shall, on an
annual basis, submit to each subscriber who has qualified as a low-income
subscriber a form that has check boxes for confirmation that such subscriber
either remains qualified or no longer qualifies as a low-income subscriber. The subscriber organization shall omit from
its list of low-income subscribers those subscribers who indicate they no
longer qualify as low-income subscribers. The subscriber organization may assume that
subscribers who fail to return the form remain in their current status. The subscriber organization shall maintain all
such documentation received, as well as a list of those persons who failed to
return the form. The documentation shall
be maintained, easily accessible, and organized by year. The form may be delivered electronically to a
subscriber who has consented to electronic communications. A subscriber may opt out of electronic
delivery. For a subscriber who opts out,
has not consented, or lacks a valid electronic contact, the form shall be
mailed with a self-addressed prepaid return envelope or prepaid postcard. A summary of the documentation shall be
submitted to the program administrator annually, and the documentation shall be
made available to the program administrator upon request.
F. The commission shall contract
with an experienced service provider to partner with community organizations to
provide education and outreach to low-income serving organizations and to
manage an outreach program to attract low-income subscribers to the program.
[17.9.573.15 NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.16 SUBSCRIBER PROTECTIONS:
A. The commission has adopted a uniform
disclosure form that may be updated as needed by the commission or the program
administrator. The uniform disclosure
form shall identify the information to be provided by subscriber organizations
to potential subscribers, in both English and Spanish, and when appropriate,
native or indigenous languages, to ensure fair disclosure of future costs and
benefits of subscriptions, key contract terms, security interests and other
relevant but reasonable information pertaining to the subscription, as well as
grievance and enforcement procedures. The
key contract terms to be disclosed on the form are estimated subscription size
(kw AC), estimated contract effective date, contract term (months or years),
option to renew y/n?, enrollment costs/subscription fees, current
administrative cost rider rate, payment terms, rate discount, estimated total
one year payments, a uniform visual example which shows estimated net monthly
utility bill savings based on average usage of a residential customer, stated
in terms of dollar and percent savings as well as stated estimates of annual
and monthly average dollar and percent savings, early termination fees or
cancellation terms, and subscription portability or transferability. The subscriber organization shall provide the
form to a potential subscriber and allow them time to review the form’s
disclosures and sign the form before entering into a subscription agreement. The subscriber organization shall maintain in
its files a signed form for each subscriber for the duration of the
subscriber’s subscription, plus one year, and shall make the form available to
the commission upon the commission’s request.
B. The subscriber organization must
maintain a minimum level of general liability
insurance coverage for each facility that it operates, with the minimum
level dependent upon the nameplate capacity of the facility, according to the
following schedule: one million dollars
per occurrence for a facility with a capacity greater than 250 kW, five hundred
thousand dollars per occurrence for a facility with a capacity in the range of
40 kW - 250kW, and three hundred thousand dollars per occurrence for a facility
with a capacity below 40 kW.
C. False advertising prohibited -
subscriber organizations, subscriber managers, and authorized contractors shall
not engage in false or misleading advertising. This includes, but is not limited to,
representing the value of a subscription by advertising the solar bill credit
discount as the net discount on the customer’s total electricity bill. Such conduct constitutes false advertising
under New Mexico statutes, chapter 57, article 15 - trade practices and
regulations. Failure to abide by this
requirement may result in temporary suspension, or complete revocation, of
authority to participate in the community solar program from the program
administrator.
D. Compliance with local solicitation
laws - subscriber organizations, subscriber managers, and authorized
contractors shall comply with all applicable local laws governing solicitation
activities. This includes obtaining any required solicitor’s permits and
business licenses before engaging in door-to-door or in-person solicitation. In
some jurisdictions, unpermitted solicitation is a misdemeanor offense. Subscriber managers are responsible for
ensuring that their authorized representatives are aware of and comply with all
relevant local requirements. Failure to
prevent unauthorized solicitation by an authorized representative may result in
the suspension of the subscriber manager’s authorization to enroll subscribers
in the New Mexico community solar program.
[17.9.573.16 NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.17 SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENTS:
Each
subscriber organization shall develop and implement a written subscriber agreement
containing the organization’s terms and conditions for subscribing to its
project.
A. The subscriber agreement must include
the following terms, at a minimum:
(1) general project information;
(2) the effective date and term of the
agreement;
(3) identification of all charges and
fees;
(4) payment details;
(5) information about the bill credit
mechanism;
(6) estimated annual net dollar savings in
year one based on average usage of a residential customer;
(7) the terms and conditions of service;
(8) the process for customer notification if
the community solar facility is out of service;
(9) the customer protections provided;
(10) contact information for questions and
complaints; and
(11) the subscriber organization’s commitment
to notify the subscriber of changes that could impact the subscriber.
B. Subscriber organizations may update subscriber agreements
or related enrollment information to reflect non-material changes without
submitting a new agreement, provided that such changes do not alter the terms
of service in a manner that affects subscriber rights or obligations. Non-material changes include administrative
updates, any decrease in subscription size consistent with the executed
subscriber agreement that does not reduce the savings rate or alter other
material rights, and an increase of no more than twenty-five percent of the
original subscription size if authorized by the executed agreement and
compliant with Paragraph (1) of Subsection A of Section 62-16B-5 NMSA 1978,
changes in subscriber location within the same utility service territory, or
reassignment to another approved project administered by the same subscriber
organization.
C. Qualifying utilities shall implement and maintain an
electronic system to allow subscriber organizations to submit enrollment
materials and make updates through a streamlined digital process. The system shall allow batch submission of
subscriber information and documentation, provide confirmation of receipt, and
support standard file formats including CSV and PDF, and notice of review
within a specified number of business days.
D. The electronic system shall be fully implemented and
available to subscriber organizations no later than 90 days after the rules are
enacted by the commission. After that
date, utilities shall not require paper-based or manual submission of
subscriber materials, including consent forms. The program administrator shall monitor
implementation and may recommend action to the commission in cases of
noncompliance.
E. The commission may consider additional required terms in a
future proceeding.
F. Complaints by subscribers against subscriber
organizations may be submitted to the commission’s consumer relations division
for informal resolution. The commission
may, in its discretion, refer serious issues to the attorney general to pursue
enforcement proceedings.
G. The program administrator may require additional,
reasonable reporting by subscriber organizations and qualifying utilities that
the program administrator finds necessary or convenient for the efficient
administration of the community solar program.
[17.9.573.17
NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.18 CO-LOCATION OF COMMUNITY SOLAR
FACILITIES: As
long as a community solar facility is not located on the same parcel as another
community solar facility, it shall not be considered co-located with another
community solar facility. For any parcel that has been subdivided in
the two years prior to a community solar project bid, all subdivided parcels
shall be considered a single parcel for the purposes of this
rule. The commission will consider, on a
case-by-case basis, allowing more than one community solar facility to be located
on the same parcel.
[17.9.573.18 NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.19 PRODUCTION DATA:
A. The subscriber organization shall pay
for a production meter to be used to measure the amount of electricity and
renewable energy certificates generated by each community solar facility.
B. The subscriber organization shall provide
real-time reporting of production as specified by the utility. For a community solar facility with production
capacity greater than 250 kW AC, the subscriber organization shall provide
real-time electronic access to production and system operation data to the
utility.
C. Production from the facility shall be
reported to the subscribers by the subscriber organization on at least a
monthly basis. Subscriber organizations
are encouraged to provide website access to subscribers showing real-time
output from the facility, if practicable, as well as historic production data.
[17.9.573.19 NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.20 COMMUNITY SOLAR BILL CREDIT RATE:
A. In
calculating the solar bill credit rate, the utility shall calculate the total
aggregate retail rate on a per-customer-class basis, less the
commission-approved distribution cost components, and identify all proposed
rules, fees and other charges converted to a kilowatt-hour rate, including fuel
and purchased power cost adjustments, the value of renewable energy attributes
and other charges of a qualifying utility's effective rate schedule applicable
to a given customer rate class, but does not include charges described on a
qualifying utility's rate schedule as minimum monthly charges, including
customer or service availability charges, energy efficiency program riders or
other charges not related to a qualifying utility's power production,
transmission or distribution functions, as approved by the commission,
franchise fees and tax charges on utility bills.
B. The total aggregate retail rate is the
total amount of a qualifying utility's demand, energy and other charges
converted to a kilowatt-hour rate, including fuel and purchased power cost
adjustments, the value of renewable energy attributes and other charges of a
qualifying utility's effective rate schedule applicable to a given customer
rate class, but does not include charges described on a qualifying utility's
rate schedule as minimum monthly charges, including customer or service
availability charges, energy efficiency program riders or other charges not
related to a qualifying utility's power production, transmission or
distribution functions, as approved by the commission, franchise fees and tax
charges on utility bills. The utility’s
tariff for the bill credit shall include a table specifying the components of
the total aggregate retail rate, the value of the renewable energy attributes
and the distribution costs to be subtracted.
C. The utility shall base its
distribution cost calculation upon its most recently commission-approved
cost-of-service study.
D. The utility shall not subtract any
costs of transmission from the solar bill credit rate calculation.
E. The utility shall value the
environmental attributes of renewable energy certificates (RECs) at the
utility’s average cost of meeting its renewable portfolio standard requirement.
F. The utility shall ensure that the fuel and purchased
power cost components credit rate is equal to the utility’s commission-approved
fuel and purchased power cost adjustment clause rate on the subscriber’s bill.
[17.9.573.20 NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.21 UNSUBSCRIBED ENERGY:
B. Subscriber
organizations may modify subscriber’s allocation monthly. Subscriber organizations will prioritize the
banked unsubscribed energy ahead of newly produced energy, even if this will
cause a portion of the newly produced energy in the current month to be
unsubscribed.
C. Utilities
will utilize the solar bill credits in effect at the time the unsubscribed
energy is applied.
D. Avoided
cost of energy rate for unsubscribed energy:
(1) The qualifying utility shall pay for
unsubscribed energy which has been rolled forward for greater than 12 months to
the subscriber organization at an avoided cost of energy rate as determined by
the qualifying utility’s commission-approved qualifying facility tariff.
(2) The payments for unsubscribed energy
shall be recovered in the fuel and purchased power cost adjustment clause as
economic eligible fuel expense.
(3) The qualifying utility shall seek
recovery of the incremental costs to administer the unsubscribed energy through
the community solar administrative cost rider.
[17.9.573.21 NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.22 CONSOLIDATED BILLING:
A. Each qualifying utility shall submit
a proposed consolidated billing proposal for commission approval by January 1,
2027. Proposals may vary among utilities
and should be specific to billing system requirements and constraints.
(1) Proposals shall include, at a minimum:
(a) the calculation of the community solar
bill credit rate, including
applicable taxes and fees;
(b) the calculation of the utility
administrative costs;
(c) the calculation of the payment due to
the subscriber organization, including the subscription rate, taxes, and fees;
(d) any applied unsubscribed energy from
the subscriber organization;
(e) proposed mechanisms for customers
participating in other utility programs, such as multiple community solar
subscriptions, budget billing, on-bill financing, and additional green tariff
programs;
(f) proposed data privacy for subscriber
information to avoid misuse or exposure of financial or personal information;
(g) estimated costs and timelines; and
(h) descriptions of resource requirements
and constraints.
(2) The commission will review the
proposed design specifications to ensure full compliance with applicable
statutory and regulatory requirements.
(3) The commission may request changes to
any proposed design specification prior to approval or denial.
B. Each qualifying utility shall propose
an implementation plan for consolidated billing for all community solar
subscribers within 180 days of receiving commission approval of a consolidated
billing design specification. Utility
implementation plans shall include relevant estimated costs and timelines, as
well as descriptions of resource requirements or constraints.
C. Each qualifying utility shall provide
quarterly reporting on the implementation plan until full consolidated billing
is achieved for each qualifying utility. Each quarterly report shall include any
changes to the estimated completion date, expenses incurred and recovered to
date, and any new information relevant to the estimated budget and timeline.
D. Once a qualifying utility has
implemented an approved consolidated billing program, all subscriber
organizations operating within the utility’s territory shall participate in the
consolidated billing program.
E. A subscriber organization shall
provide to the utility a subscriber list for each community solar
facility enrolled in consolidated billing
and a savings rate for each subscriber’s electric utility account.
F. A qualifying utility shall calculate
an electric utility account’s net bill credit using a savings rate
with precision up to one-tenth of a
percent.
G.
For all customers participating
in consolidated billing, a subscriber organization shall set a
percentage savings rate that is greater
than zero. A subscriber organization may
set a unique savings rate for each
electric utility account subscribed to a
community solar facility.
H. When calculating a net bill credit, a
qualifying utility shall use the savings rate information
provided by a subscriber organization. A qualifying utility must apply updated
savings rate information no later than
the first full billing cycle for the
subscriber’s account that occurs after receiving the information.
I. The calculation of subscription
credits and charges shall be completed as follows:
(1) A qualifying utility shall calculate
the dollar amount of the net bill credit for a subscriber’s account by
multiplying the savings rate by the dollar value of the solar bill credit
during the billing period.
(2) A qualifying utility shall calculate
the dollar amount of the subscription charge by subtracting the net bill credit
dollar value from the dollar value of the solar bill credit during the billing
period.
(3) A qualifying utility shall deduct a
subscriber’s net bill credit from the monthly electric energy charges due to
the qualifying utility.
(4) For a subscriber on budget billing, a
qualifying utility shall deduct a subscriber’s net bill credit from the
subscriber’s monthly budget bill amount due.
J. For each billing period in which a
subscriber is enrolled in consolidated billing, the qualifying
utility shall include the following on the
subscriber’s bill for electric service:
(1) the dollar value of the subscription
credit during the billing period;
(2) the savings rate as specified by the
subscriber organization under Subsection G of 17.9.573.22 NMAC;
(3) the subscription charge in dollars;
and
(4) the net bill credit in dollars applied
under Paragraph (3) of Subsection I of 17.9.573.22 NMAC.
K. A qualifying utility shall, on a subscriber’s electricity
bill, label the subscription components in Subsection J of 17.9.573.22 NMAC as
being associated with the subscriber’s community solar subscription.
L. Subscription charges shall be remitted by the utility to
the subscriber organization as follows:
(1) For each month that an account is
subscribed to a community solar facility, the qualified
utility shall remit to the subscriber
organization of the community solar facility an amount equal to the
subscription
charge calculated in Paragraph (2) of
Subsection I of 17.9.573.22 NMAC.
(2) A qualifying utility shall remit the
amount in Paragraph (1) of Subsection L of 17.9.573.22 NMAC no later than 60 calendar
days from the date on which the qualifying utility determines the most recent
energy reading from the community solar facility.
(3) A qualifying utility shall make the
payment required under Paragraph (1) of Subsection L of 17.9.573.22 NMAC to the
subscriber organization through electronic fund transfer or other payment
method mutually agreed upon by the subscriber organization and the qualifying
utility.
(4) Customer partial payments, and
customer non-payments shall not change the remittance process established in Paragraph
(1) of Subsections L through Paragraph (3) of Subsection L NMAC. Partial payments and non-payments of the
remaining utility bill shall be administered under 17.5.410 NMAC and the
utility’s generally applicable tariff.
M. Net credit billing reporting
(1) A qualifying utility that provides
consolidated billing shall provide a subscriber organization with a report
detailing each subscriber’s net credited amounts.
(2) A qualifying utility shall provide the
report no later than 60 days after the community solar facility meter reading
by the qualifying utility.
(3) The required reports shall include the
following items for each subscriber’s account:
(a) subscriber’s solar bill credit
allocation;
(b) generation period associated with
subscriber’s solar bill credit allocation;
(c) subscriber’s utility account number;
(d) subscription charge for the billing
period; and
(e) net credit amount allocation for the
period.
(4) A qualifying utility shall retain a
record of bill credits applied to each subscriber’s account for a period of
five years.
(5) A qualifying utility shall report a
summary of errors in the reports described in
Paragraph (1) of Subsection M of 17.9.573.22
NMAC for each calendar year by April 1 unless otherwise directed by the
commission.
N. Subscriber organizations shall be
responsible for all costs of consolidated billing. Costs shall be allocated to
each subscriber organization based on a dollar-per-kilowatt of awarded capacity
in the community solar program. No
subscriber organization may opt out of participating in consolidated billing.
O. Subscriber organizations shall be
required to begin payment after consolidated billing is implemented and no
earlier. Each subscriber organization
participating in a community solar facility shall begin making payments to the
qualifying utility for consolidated billing upon the facility achieving
permission to operate. Payment amounts shall be calculated in accordance with Subsection
P.
P. Costs for consolidated billing shall
be recovered by the utility from each subscriber organization participating in
the facility through the creation of a regulatory asset which may be recovered
from such subscriber organizations. The
costs may be accrued based on actual costs incurred on an annual basis and may
be amortized over time.
(1) Consolidated billing costs include
both the cost to initiate the billing capability, as well as all ongoing
administration costs of assuming all billing functions for the subscriber
organizations.
(2) If a subscriber organization
discontinues operations in New Mexico, the financial obligation for
consolidated billing shall pass to any subscriber organization that assumes the
awarded capacity. If no other subscriber organization assumes the awarded capacity,
the financial obligation for consolidated billing shall be redistributed among
existing subscriber organizations.
Q. Nothing in this rule shall limit the
ability of the utility to disclose subscriber organization subscription rates
to customers.
[17.9.573.22 NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.23 RELOCATION OF COMMUNITY SOLAR FACILITIES: A selected
community solar facility may petition for relocation of its project site,
subject to commission approval, only if the following conditions are met:
A. point of interconnection (POI):
relocation shall not change the designated point of interconnection identified
in the solicitation bid. If relocation requires a different POI, the new POI
must:
(1) remain on the original parcel, or
(2) be located on an adjacent parcel
secured by a valid lease or utility-approved easement. The utility and
subscriber organization shall jointly select a compliant POI that prioritizes
safety and reliability.
B. proximity to 3-phase line (<1
mile): if the original site is within one mile of the nearest 3-phase circuit,
the relocated site must remain within that one-mile radius. By mutual agreement, the IOU and subscriber
organization may select an alternate POI along the same feeder within that
radius.
C. proximity to 3-phase line (>1
mile): if the original site is greater than one mile from the nearest 3-phase
circuit, relocation shall not increase the distance from that circuit or the
original POI.
D. ownership consistency: the landowner
of the original and relocated parcel must be the same.
E. site control: The subscriber organization must maintain
legally binding site control of the relocated parcel.
F. no adverse cost impacts: relocation
shall not increase interconnection or other costs for projects already
selected. The hosting utility must
validate any proposed relocation for potential restudy. Any new studies triggered by relocation shall
be paid for by the relocating developer.
[17.9.573.23 NMAC - N, 9/9/2026]
17.9.573.24 CONTRACTUAL DOCUMENTS AS
COLLATERAL: A subscriber organization may seek to
grant a security interest in any contractual agreements it has executed with a
utility, including its subscriber organization agreement and its
interconnection agreement, under the condition that any such assignment
incorporate the provisions of the subscriber organization agreement with
respect to assignment (Article 15), and default and remedies (Article 9). In no case shall any subscriber organization
propose a consent to assignment to a utility which materially conflicts with or
amends the provisions of the subscriber organization agreement. Any such consent, if executed, shall be null
and void.
[17.9.573.24 - N, 9/9/2026]
HISTORY OF 17.9.573 NMAC: [RESERVED]
History of Repealed Material: 17.9.573 NMAC - Community Solar (filed
7/12/2022), Repealed effective 9/9/2026.
Other: 17.9.573 NMAC - Community Solar (filed
7/12/2022), Replaced by 17.9.573 NMAC - Community Solar effective 9/9/2026.