Electricity is vital to the lives of everyone in New Mexico. It drives our economy, heats our homes, lights our streets, and powers our offices and industries. Though many people take it for granted, delivering safe, reliable electricity to your home or business is a complex operation. Besides providing customer choice of electricity supplier, customer choice in New Mexico will also bring changes in the way the electric system operates. Like Now Power is provided by PNM-owned plants, is carried over the company's transmission lines, and is then distributed to homes and businesses over PNM's distribution system.
Electricity is produced in a generating plant .
Once electricity is generated, it is delivered across a transmission system , which is a sort of highway system for electricity. High-voltage power cables strung between tall towers carry electricity over long distances from generating plants to local distribution systems or to connection points with other companies' transmission systems. Distribution lines are carried on utility poles or buried underground. By the way, a nationwide grid of interconnected transmission lines plays a key role in ensuring reliable electric service for everyone. This national transmission network allows utilities to buy and sell power from each other and from other power suppliers, while also providing alternative power paths in emergencies.