Net metering just another avenue for utilities to cheat

New Mexico is the third best state for solar power potential and some 420,000 photovoltaic modules have been put into service in the Land of Enchantment since 2018. So, in 2020 Spanish firm Iberdrola and its US subsidiary Avangrid announced its intention to acquire Public Service of New Mexico (PNM) for about $4.3 billion.

But in 2019 Rio Rancho residents Paul Ortiz y Pino and his daughter Jessica spent $35,000 on a photovoltaic system that dropped their PNM bill from about $500 a month to $8 a month but the company that installed it nearly went bankrupt because of the Trump-driven pandemic so nobody followed up on maintenance then their PNM bill went sky high again.

In 2021 a study at Michigan Technological University revealed that far more work is needed to ensure the owners of self-generated electricity systems are not unjustly subsidizing electric utilities but in Wyoming, Black Hills Energy and PacifiCorp enjoy a duopoly. 

In Colorado Xcel charges homeowners 17 cents a kilowatt hour in base rates but only pays 8 cents per kWh to subscribers with rooftop solar who sell their home grown power. So, don't tie your system to the grid but if you use it as a backup keep your own electricity completely separate from the utility that reads your meter. 

New Mexico’s community solar program is supposed to help people with low incomes and organizations get clean energy for cheaper. But regulators are calling out utility companies for trying to charge consumers too much before the program has even launched. There have already been thousands of applications from organizations that want to be part of an interconnected solar energy grid, according to documentation the utility companies submitted to the Public Regulation Commission. PNM spokesperson Ray Sandoval said his utility also raised concerns with the PRC in April about solar providers truthfully disclosing costs, benefits and risks to customers, as well as the high transmission costs. [PRC: Utilities trying to overcharge in a solar program meant to help low-income communities]

Utilities are not your friends and according to WalletHub 16 of the 17 most energy efficient states are blue states but New Mexico still remains in the bottom half. Senator Martin Heinrich wants to change that so he sat down with KUNM to explain how.

Learn more at the Los Alamos Daily Post.