2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 62 - Electric, Gas and Water Utilities › Article 11 - Review of Commission Orders › Section 62-11-6 - Appeals; supreme court may stay or suspend commission's order.

The pendency of an appeal shall not of itself stay or suspend the operation of the order of the commission, but, during the pendency of such proceedings, the supreme court in its discretion may stay or suspend, in whole or in part, the operation of the commission's order on such terms as it deems just and in accordance with the practice of courts exercising equity jurisdiction. If the supreme court stays or suspends the operation of an order of the commission, pending a review of the order, the court may require the party seeking the stay or suspension to secure the other parties against loss due to the delay in the enforcement of the order, in case the order on appeal is affirmed, in such amount and in such form as the supreme court shall direct.
History:
Laws 1941, ch. 84, § 71; 1941 Comp., § 72-906; 1953 Comp., § 68-9-6; Laws 1982, ch. 109, § 15; 1983, ch. 250, § 4.
ANNOTATIONS
Compiler's notes.
— Sections 62-11-1 to 62-11-6 of the Public Utility Act are still effective as the repeal of Chapter 62, Article 6 by Laws 1998, Chapter 108, Section 82, effective July 1, 2003 Chapter 108, Section 82 was repealed prior to taking effect by Chapter 23, Section 1, Laws 2003. Although Laws 2003, Chapter 336, Section 8, amended Laws 1998, Chapter 82, as amended, an amendment of a repealed section is ineffective.
See
Quintana v. N.M. Dep't of Corrs., 100 N.M. 224, 668 P.2d 1101 (1983). Laws 2003, Chapter 416, Section 5 also repealed Laws 1998, Chapter 108, Section 82, as amended, a second time, however, that repeal is of no effect as the section had previously been repealed by Chapter 23, Section 1, Laws 2003.
Cross references.
— For definition of "commission,"
see
62-3-3 NMSA 1978.
The 1983 amendment
inserted "stay or suspend commission's order" at the end of the catchline and substituted "If the supreme court stays or suspends the operation of an order of the commission, pending a review of the order, the court may require the party seeking the stay or suspension to secure" for "Any party shall have the right to secure from the supreme court an order suspending or staying the operation of an order of the commission, pending a review of such order, by securing" in the second sentence.
A party looking to stay a public regulation commission final order must seek a stay from the commission before requesting a stay from the New Mexico supreme court.
— Where El Paso electric company (El Paso electric) submitted its 2018 annual renewable energy plan to the New Mexico public regulation commission (commission), in which El Paso electric sought a ten-year extension of its agreement with the Camino Real energy facility to purchase renewable energy certificates at a price of $30 per megawatt hour of renewable energy, which doubled the $15 per megawatt hour price for the certificates under its expiring agreement with the Camino Real facility, and where the commission issued a final order approving the proposal, and where the city of Las Cruces (city) filed a notice of appeal with the New Mexico supreme court seeking review of the commission's final order and requesting that the court stay the portion of the commission's order that approved El Paso electric's agreement with the Camino Real facility, the city was required to first seek a stay from the commission, because a party is required to pursue relief from an administrative agency, where available, before seeking redress from the courts, which allows for the development of a complete factual record and preserves the New Mexico supreme court's role as a court of review
. City of Las Cruces v. N.M. Pub. Regulation Comm'n
, 2020-NMSC-016.
The New Mexico public regulation commission retains jurisdiction to act on a stay request following a final order.
— Where El Paso electric company (El Paso electric) submitted its 2018 annual renewable energy plan to the New Mexico public regulation commission (commission), in which El Paso electric sought a ten-year extension of its agreement with the Camino Real energy facility to purchase renewable energy certificates at a price of $30 per megawatt hour of renewable energy, which doubled the $15 per megawatt hour price for the certificates under its expiring agreement with the Camino Real facility, and where the commission issued a final order approving the proposal, the commission was within its authority to grant the city of Las Cruces' motion for stay despite a pending appeal, because the commission retains jurisdiction to act on a stay request following a final order.
City of Las Cruces v. N.M. Pub. Regulation Comm'n
, 2020-NMSC-016.
Law reviews.
— For note, "The Public Service Commission: A Legal Analysis of an Administrative System," see 3 N.M.L. Rev. 184 (1973).