Propane is used by 60 million people in the country, with residential and commercial use accounting for 5.4 billion gallons. Commercial customers use it for heating and cooling, cooking and refrigeration and lighting. Industrial customers use it for space heating, soldering, cutting and many others. The remainder of the state's electricity is generated through use of natural gas, hydropower and petroleum. New Mexico imports over 500 megawatts of power from Texas and Arizona for the purpose of supplementing utility customer needs, but is an overall net exporter of electricity, primarily to California, Texas and Arizona.
Electric utilities form a substantial market for New Mexico-produced coal and natural gas.
Several different types of electric utilities serve New Mexico. Silver City Seven municipal power companies serve 7 percent of the state's customers in Farmington, Gallup, Raton, Truth or Consequences, Aztec, Springer and Los Alamos. The remaining 20 percent are served by 20 rural electric cooperatives operating over 85 percent of the state's land area. Not all New Mexico utilities perform all of the three main functions of electricity generation, transmission and distribution. Controversy regarding electric rates has been running high in New Mexico in recent months.