New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 17 - PUBLIC UTILITIES AND UTILITY SERVICES › Chapter 7 - ENERGY CONSERVATION › Part 2 - ENERGY EFFICIENCY › Section 17.7.2.11 - SELF-DIRECTED PROGRAM EXEMPTIONS FOR LARGE CUSTOMERS

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
The following criteria apply to utility exemptions to large
				  customers for self-directed programs.
A. To receive approval for an exemption to
				paying seventy percent of the tariff rider, a large customer must demonstrate
				to the reasonable satisfaction of the utility or self-direct program
				administrator that it has exhausted all cost-effective energy efficiency
				measures at its facility.
B.
				Projects that have received rebates, financial or other program support from a
				utility are not eligible for an exemption.
C. Eligible expenditures must have a simple
				payback period of more than one year but less than seven years.
D. Large customers shall seek and receive
				approval for exemptions from the utility or a commission-approved self-direct
				administrator.
E. Large customers
				applying for an investor-owned electric utility bill exemption must meet the
				electricity consumption size criterion set forth in Subsection G of Section
				62-17-4 NMSA 1978.
F. Large
				customers applying for a gas utility bill exemption must meet the gas
				consumption criterion set forth in Subsection G of Section 62-17-4 NMSA
				1978.
G. The utility shall
				designate a qualified representative to review and approve, or disapprove,
				large customer requests for exemptions.
H. The commission may appoint a
				"commission-approved" self-direct program administrator to review and approve,
				or disapprove, large customer requests for exemptions.
I. Approvals or disapprovals by the utility
				representative or administrator shall be subject to commission review. Within
				30 business days of the action, the utility representative or administrator
				shall file and serve notice of each self-direct program approval or disapproval
				with the commission, and on all interested parties. Notice of an appeal of a
				utility or administrator approval or disapproval of a large customer exemption
				request shall be filed with the commission within 30 calendar days of the
				approval or disapproval action by staff, the large customer or any interested
				party.
J. Self-direct program
				participants, or large customers seeking an exemption shall provide, to the
				public utility or the commission approved self-direct program administrator,
				access to all relevant engineering studies and documentation needed to verify
				energy saving of the project, and allow access to its site for reasonable
				inspections, at reasonable times. All records relevant to a self-direct program
				shall be maintained by the large customer for the duration of that program,
				which shall be evaluated in accordance with
				17.7.2.15
				NMAC, subject to appropriate protections for confidentiality.
K. Self-direct program participants, or large
				customers seeking exemption, shall submit qualified in-house or contracted
				engineering studies, and such other information as may be reasonably required
				by the utility or program administrator, to demonstrate qualification for
				self-direct program exemptions.
L.
				Large customers must respond to reasonable utility or administrator information
				requests and allow the utility or an administrator to perform necessary site
				visits.
M. The utility or
				administrator shall act in a timely manner on requests for self-direct program
				approval.
N. For investor-owned
				electric utilities, the equivalent amount of energy savings associated with a
				large customer's self-directed program will be accounted for in calculating its
				compliance with minimum required energy savings.
O. Large customer expenditures incurred to
				produce electric energy savings or electric demand savings are only eligible
				for an electric utility bill credit. Large customer expenditures incurred to
				produce natural gas energy savings or natural gas demand savings are only
				eligible for a gas utility bill credit. Large customer expenditures incurred to
				produce both electric and natural gas energy savings, both electric and natural
				gas demand savings or any combination of energy savings and demand savings for
				both electric and natural gas are eligible for both an electricity bill credit
				and a gas utility bill credit, provided that the same energy efficiency
				expenditures or load management expenditures cannot be accounted for
				twice.
P. Upon written request by
				the large customer, the information provided by large customers to the utility
				or program administrator, program evaluator or others shall remain
				confidential, except as otherwise ordered by the commission.