The New Mexico Supreme Court has upheld a regulatory rule requiring electric utilities to expand their planning for current and future energy needs. In a unanimous decision, the court rejected a challenge by El Paso Electric Company, the Public Service Co. of New Mexico, and Southwestern Public Service Company against the rules for Integrated Resource Plans (IRP) set by the state Public Regulation Commission (PRC). These amended regulations were adopted in 2022.

"Appellants have failed to meet their burden to show that the Commission’s orders adopting the Amended Rule were unreasonable and unlawful or that the Commission violated their procedural due process rights," said Chief Justice David K. Thomson.

The utilities argued that the PRC overstepped its authority with new IRP requirements, including those related to energy resource procurement and establishing an independent monitor for procurement processes like requests for proposals (RFPs). The PRC initially established IRP rules in 2007 following the Efficient Use of Energy Act (EUEA) and has revised them several times since then.

The court noted that when approving the EUEA, the Legislature provided little guidance on what form or substance IRP regulations should take, which was interpreted as granting broad authority to the PRC. "The Legislature’s tacit delegation of authority must be viewed as sufficiently broad," wrote the court. The utilities did not adequately explain why this discretion was unreasonable.

The court concluded that the amended rule was within the bounds of delegated authority and aligned with actions taken by other public utility commissions. "Quite to the contrary, the Commission’s adoption of the Amended Rule marks its joinder with a growing number of counterpart public utility commissions," it said.

For more details on this decision, visit: https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsc/en/item/530937/index.do