Public Regulation Commission Dems face off
For the June 3 New Mexico primary elections, SFR will call up candidates in the CONTESTED races to test their knowledge. The rules for Pop Quiz are as follows:
No research allowed and if they call back later with the right answer, too bad.
To see who answered correctly (or came closest), check out our answer key below.
Questions:
1. New Mexico has several new utility-scale renewable generation facilities. Name them and explain what they do.
2. Why do Public Service Company of New Mexico executives get paid so much?
3. How much did the PRC recently vote to raise New Mexicans' electric rates? Why?
4. If you had been on the PRC last year, would you have supported the settlement the PRC made with Qwest?
5. Do you think the PRC is an improvement over its two predecessor agents?
BONUS: Name the legislator who sponsored the constitutional amendment to create the PRC.
Answers:
Jerome Block Jr., 31, sales manager for Land America Financial Group (currently on leave)
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1. Northern New Mexico Solar Energy Research Park at Northern New Mexico Community College. That's providing research of stored energy. Another one I'm aware of is New Mexico Wind Energy Center, a little bit north of Ft. Sumner. They produce energy through wind. That's all I can think of.
2. The PRC earlier in the year requested the salaries of these executives. Now they get paid…Their companies need to provide service. They have shareholders to answer to. Their pay is basically for the service they provide and making their shareholders happy and providing service to New Mexicans that they need.
3. I believe by 6 percent. Probably so PNM could continue to provide service that's needed to New Mexicans.
4. Well I probably would've been in support and would have made it extremely clear that we are going to monitor their alternative form of regulation in a much tougher manner and stay on top of it a lot more to make sure they do comply.
5. I believe they have made an improvement in a lot of ways. The State Corporation Commission did have a lot of good commissioners, and I don't feel that the Corporation Commission has the negative press that they've had recently they deserve. They were a good commission. There were just a few flaws that happened. The PRC has done a good job and will continue to if we get elected.
BONUS: I should know because my dad was…I can't off the top of my head…I want to say it was someone from here but I can't remember.
Paul Campos, 58, lawyer and Santa Fe County commissioner
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1. I can't name them. I know PNM has some new generator plants that use natural gas. There are a couple solar power plants in planning stages. No new coal generation in New Mexico. There's the plan to do Desert Rock in Navajo country.
2. You'd have to talk to shareholders. The company's not doing well and there are some very high-paid executives.
3. Six to 7 percent. PNM asked for 14; staff recommended 4. The commission itself went to a rate increase of between 6 and 7 percent.
4. I would have. First of all, I have to preface, I don't know all the details. I would've pressed Qwest for more money in the settlement. I think the investment that Qwest committed to make in New Mexico is so important to our economic development that I would've been more aggressive in pushing for that investment.
5. I think so. It brings together a lot of related type of regulatory activity. It continues to supervise corporations only as far as registration. It does have the state fire marshal as part of its regulation. Overall I think it is an improvement.
BONUS: Oh my God. How many points? [SFR: "However many points you want."] I believe it was Bob Perls, state rep. out of Corrales.
Louis Gallegos, 64, mortgage banker
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1. One of them is a new generator in Farmington. The new generator is being built now, and what they're most concerned with is the quality. Also they're concerned about the wind chargers. The farm in the Santa Rosa area is going to be one of the biggest generators. I think it will be in the future. Also solar in the future will help solve the problem with resources.
2. That's a No. 1 big question. I'm sure PNM is getting paid $6 or $7 million, and benefits on top of that. Also, when they give any kind of rate hikes, it should be taken into consideration the pay raises these executives are getting. I don't think it's fair to give pay rate hikes when such executives make that type of money. They should get a fair salary, but it's enormous compared to what the consumers are getting back.
3. It was probably around 4.6 or 4.7 percent. But they started out with a 27 percent rate hike, then it went down by about 12 percent, then they settled on 4 percent. That's my recollection. Not being there to quote figures, that's a pretty good percentage of what happened there.
4. I probably would've been a little bit tougher on them. Still things are hanging in the air. They still haven't completed their expenditures on what they spent in New Mexico. Still a lot of areas they haven't been in, a lot of rural areas that aren't being taken care of. Springer area, they don't have an Internet system yet for their schools. I'd have been a lot tougher on them.
5. I have. I think the Legislature has put a lot of burden under one umbrella. The burden of expertise is very tremendous, and you have to scrutinize your staff to have people in the staff that are familiar with each entity you have to regulate. The energy, the gas and water, you need a lot of experts. Now they have to concentrate on a lot of other areas, like telephones, insurance. The public's service is suffering from the rules on these truckers. Now the DOT is the watchdog for the truckers and they don't have the manpower to do this. I liked it like it was before, working with three commissioners. Now working with five, the more commissioners you have on a public board, the commissioners have a lot more ideas and there's a lot more squabbling between them. It's hard to get along with two rather than four more.
BONUS:
You're going back…I know he was in the Rio Rancho area. He was a state rep…It's right there and I can't even say it.
Joseph Maestas, 47, consulting engineer, Española mayor
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1. There's a local initiative underway, biofuels initiative in Taos where they'd use municipal solid waste. There's a biofuels initiative in Clayton that would use livestock waste. There's biomass I believe being used at Jemez Mountain schools using woodchips. Kit Carson Electric has secured funding to build a solar power facility to take the Northern New Mexico College, El Rito campus, off the grid. I could name a few others. There's a 10-megawatt solar power facility that'll be developed to meet the renewable portfolio standards.
2. The perception of the public is that it's quite a bit of money because it's the largest utility company in the state. There's no comparable corporation to judge the level of executive compensation.
3. The recent rate increase approved by the PRC was by 6.4 percent. The original request was 14.7 percent and staff recommended 4.4 percent.
4. It's a hypothetical question but I would've advocated the commitment Qwest made for the infrastructure. I think it was almost $300 million Qwest had not invested in the infrastructure. That was really the thrust of the dispute between the PRC and Qwest.
5. Yes I do. Although it's only been operating since 1999. The PRC has not taken full advantage of all its statutory authority and abilities. It could be better. It's a vast improvement over the predecessor organizations.
BONUS: I can't.
Arthur H Rodarte, 60, Rio Arriba County assessor
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1. Generation facilities? As far as solar, Kit Carson Electric co-op, I'm part of that board. We just got a $5 million renewable energy bond. We'll be working with UNM Taos. State says we have to be at 5 percent renewable by 2015, we'll probably meet that by 2009. We've already sold 6 million kilowatt hours to our members. Also, the CFL, the compact florescent bulbs. We're promoting those, so that way, consumers can have energy efficiency in their homes. The demand for power facilities is less.
2. I would assume that's an issue the board of directors that are in charge of doing that. But now that PRC has become more involved in scrutinizing their budgets, I imagine those kinds of issues will become top priority. It's becoming more important for people to consider what they're buying out there, and you have these executives making a lot of money. Seems lopsided. The PRC should have a dialogue with some of the executives from these corporations.
3. I think it was 7 percent. But then there's the issue of the pass-through they want to get acknowledgment for, and the PRC hasn't done anything on it yet. That'd generate $44 million. The attorney general was involved in promoting what the PRC wanted as far as rate increases. It's important these entities come before the table, and if they want top dollar, I'm sure once we start looking thorough all these figures, as a commissioner I'd look at what a fair and equitable amount is.
4. I attended a Qwest meeting outside of Questa in [Costilla Amalia]. I was there when they were saying how much money in infrastructure they'll invest in New Mexico. The only thing I didn't see was itemized how much they were going to spend where. In Amalia and Costilla, they have poor phone service. I said to Qwest at Costilla, 'Maybe Qwest ought to partner with Kit Carson Electric co-op.' To this day I don't know of any communication. It's easy to say, 'I'm going to spend millions,' but without a plan it doesn't resolve problems people have.
5. I'd say that by combining the Corporation Commission and the Public Utility Commission, then they formed the PRC, it was a step in the right direction. But it meaned everything was combined. I think it's important to streamline any corporation for economic efficiency, so long as you have the right employees for each job.
BONUS:
It was Bob Perls. He ran for PRC four years ago.
Bruce Throne, 57, lawyer
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1. There's the solar wind farms. NMWEC? I can't remember the exact acronym. That's one that PNM gets renewable energy from. And uh…there's also a biomass project that PNM is committed to. That's considered renewable, or at least alternative. I know there's a bunch being considered.
2. [Laughs.] They receive about a quarter of their pay is what they call base compensation and the rest is basically performance-based salary incentive programs, including tithe earnings per share and they get all sorts of retirement and pension plans and benefits. Basically because it's approved by their compensation committee. I can even tell you the amounts. I guess the last one I looked at was in April. They had very large ones for April 2007, which was based on performance through 2006.
3. I think it was $35.2 million. They asked for $77 million. That's not including the additional $70 million that the company's requesting to be recovered through their emergency fuel-adjustment clause.
4. I would have…when Qwest announced three years into that five-year plan they wouldn't spend the remaining $22 million, I would have taken them to district court to ask for an injunction to enforce their obligation to spend the $78 million in five years. I'm talking about the 2001 agreement that ran five years.
5. I think the PRC, by gaining such a broad authority and not having the financial resources to satisfy authority, created new problems and that an elected commission without screening for any minimum qualifications has created a decision-making process that is too political when it should be professional and not influenced by politics or any outside improper influences.
BONUS:
[Answers halfway through the question being asked] Bob Perls! Do I get extra points for you not finishing the question? They used to have a game at schools, I don't know if you're too young to remember, where if you hit the button, you'd get to answer first. Sometimes you'd get the wrong question.
ANSWER KEY (for non-opinion questions)
1. New Mexico's utility-scale renewable generation facilities include the wind-energy producing facilities: San Juan Mesa Project, New Mexico Wind Energy Center, Llano Estacado Wind Ranch, Caprock Wind Ranch, Southwest Public Service, and Argonne Mesa. The Pueblo Indian Cultural Center in Albuquerque currently generates 0.01 megawatts of solar energy. To see them on a map, go to: nmprc.state.nm.us/utility/images/renew_nm.jpg
3. 6.4 percent, or $33 million. PNM had originally requested, in February 2007, a 14.7 percent (or $77-$82 million) rate increase to adjust for increasing costs and demands. The PRC announced the rate increase it did approve as an attempt to balance PNM's financial concerns with that of rate payers, noting in a press release: "The Commission expressed concerns over the financial condition of PNM while trying to balance the monetary request of the company along with the concerns of its rate paying customers. PNM's overall financial health is vital, but the Commission also wanted to be fair to the utility company's service area customers."
BONUS: Former State Rep. Bob Perls, D-Sandoval, sponsored the constitutional amendment that created the PRC. Perls ran unsuccesfully for this seat, currently held by Ben R Luján, four years ago.