Public Service Company of New Mexico says it is ready to work with regulators after staff of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission urged commissioners to authorize a formal investigation into the utility over widespread complaints about unusually high electric bills.
In a statement, PNM spokesperson Eric Chavez said the company “understands the concerns surrounding this summer’s meter reading and billing issues and remains committed to supporting affected customers.”
“We welcome the opportunity to provide the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission with information about what occurred, how customers were affected and the actions PNM has taken in response,” Chavez said.
The statement came in response to a five-page filing submitted Tuesday by staff members on the commission’s Public Interest Advocacy team. They asked commissioners to launch a formal inquiry into PNM, the state’s largest electric provider, after customers reported bills that were far higher than normal.
According to the filing, PNM began estimating residential bills in July instead of using actual meter readings in the Alamogordo and Ruidoso areas because of a shortage of meter readers. The practice quickly spread statewide, staff wrote.
At a September town hall meeting in Alamogordo organized by the commission, some residents said their monthly bills had climbed as high as $1,700. The New Mexico Department of Justice also reported receiving multiple complaints from customers across the state whose bills jumped from the usual $150-to-$200 range.
Staff said they intend to investigate the cause of the problem, determine whether PNM complied with applicable laws and regulatory requirements, and examine whether new measures could prevent a similar situation. Their plan includes testing meters in Alamogordo and Ruidoso, reviewing PNM’s billing data, providing monthly updates, and issuing a public report with findings and recommended next steps.
The staff request follows a Sept. 9 letter from Attorney General Raúl Torrez to Don Tarry, CEO of PNM and its parent company. Torrez notified Tarry that residents had filed complaints with the Department of Justice over sharply higher bills. One complaint described a relative’s bill jumping from $150 to $766 in a single month.
An Otero County couple wrote that PNM failed to read their meter in July and that their bill exceeded $1,000 after never topping $200 the previous year.
“Though we completely understand staffing issues, an electric bill of over $1,000, when we have not had one over $200 in the last year, is absurd,” the couple wrote. “We cannot get any answers from PNM, even after asking to see usage patterns and asking about meter modifications. This is highly irregular, and we should not have to pay over a thousand dollars when PNM will not provide facts.”
Commissioners have not yet decided whether to authorize the formal investigation requested by staff.
