HOUSE ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE

SUBSTITUTE FOR

HOUSE CONSUMER AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

HOUSE BILL 206

55th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO UTILITIES; ENACTING THE UTILITY AFFORDABILITY AND RELIEF ACT; PROHIBITING DISCONNECTIONS OF QUALIFYING ELECTRIC, GAS, WATER AND WASTEWATER UTILITY CUSTOMERS WHO INCURRED ARREARS DURING THE CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY; PROHIBITING LATE FEES FOR ARREARS INCURRED DURING THE CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY; CREATING A PROGRAM FOR PARTIAL FORGIVENESS OF UTILITY BILL ARREARS; PROVIDING ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS; AUTHORIZING COST RECOVERY FOR PUBLIC UTILITIES; ALLOWING ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES TO DEDUCT A PORTION OF INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION FEES OWED THE STATE TO RECOVER COSTS PURSUANT TO THE UTILITY AFFORDABILITY AND RELIEF ACT; ENACTING THE COMMUNITY ENERGY EFFICIENCY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT ACT; CREATING A GRANT PROGRAM TO IMPLEMENT ENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURES IN LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS; AUTHORIZING THE NEW MEXICO MORTGAGE FINANCE AUTHORITY TO APPLY FOR COMMUNITY ENERGY EFFICIENCY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS; MANDATING UTILITY REPORTING OF CUSTOMER DISCONNECTIONS, ARREARS AND HOUSEHOLDS WITHOUT SERVICE; REQUIRING UTILITIES TO SUBMIT REPORTS ON ENERGY AFFORDABILITY AND ACCESS TO ELECTRIC AND WATER UTILITY SERVICE; AUTHORIZING UTILITY RATE PREFERENCES FOR LOW-INCOME CUSTOMERS; DIRECTING RULEMAKING; CREATING A FUND; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

         SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--Sections 1 through 8 of this act may be cited as the "Utility Affordability and Relief Act."

         SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Utility Affordability and Relief Act:

                   A. "arrears" means payments owed for electric, gas, water or wastewater utility service that are at least thirty days overdue, regardless of whether an installment agreement has been entered into between the customer and the utility;

                   B. "certification of economic hardship" means a written declaration signed by a customer under penalty of perjury that is submitted to a public utility to certify that the customer is prevented from being able to make payments on an installment agreement due to economic hardship;

                   C. "commission" means the public regulation commission;

                   D. "coronavirus disease 2019 public health emergency" means the period of time for which a declaration by the governor has established a state of public health emergency due to the coronavirus disease 2019, regardless of the year in which the declaration is in effect;

                   E. "installment agreement" means an agreement between a customer and a public utility for the customer to pay arrears on the customer's account over a set term;

                   F. "permanent credit" means a credit applied by a public utility to the account of a customer participating in the utility bill relief program to permanently forgive some or all of the customer's arrears incurred during the coronavirus disease 2019 public health emergency and relieve the customer of any obligation to pay back the amount forgiven;

                   G. "public utility" means a public utility as defined in the Public Utility Act that provides electricity, gas, water or wastewater utility service and includes an electric cooperative organized pursuant to the Rural Electric Cooperative Act; and

                   H. "small public utility" means a public utility, other than an electric cooperative, that provides service to less than fifty thousand residential customers.

         SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] COMMISSION RULEMAKING.--

                   A. The commission shall promulgate rules or issue orders to effectuate the provisions of the Utility Affordability and Relief Act. The orders and rules may address how arrears incurred prior to or after the coronavirus disease 2019 public health emergency are addressed by a public utility when a customer also has arrears incurred during the coronavirus disease 2019 public health emergency.

                   B. Within sixty days of the effective date of the Utility Affordability and Relief Act, the commission shall, by adoption of a rule or issuance of an order, direct public utilities to file regular reports for the duration of the utility bill relief program on the number of customers that are participating in the program, the amount of arrears that have been temporarily and permanently forgiven, the number of customers that have submitted a certification of economic hardship, the number of customers that have been granted a deferral for economic hardship, the number of residential customers eligible for the low-income home energy assistance program that have been disconnected for failure to pay arrears incurred during the coronavirus disease 2019 public health emergency and any other information the commission determines to aid in overseeing the program.

                   C. The commission may contract with a third party, including a governmental agency, or may enter into a memorandum of understanding with a governmental agency, to qualify public utility customers for the utility bill relief program or to process certifications of economic hardship made by public utility customers and may assess costs for this service to public utilities; provided that utilities may recover the costs pursuant to Section 7 of the Utility Affordability and Relief Act. The commission may share customer data with a third party for these purposes.

                   D. The commission shall coordinate with the department of finance and administration to ensure that to the maximum extent possible any funding from the federal emergency rental assistance program available for payment of utility arrears is provided to public utilities and applied to qualifying customer accounts; provided that nothing in the Utility Affordability and Relief Act shall limit the federal emergency rental assistance program from paying the maximum amount of rental arrears allowable for a qualifying renter, regardless of whether the renter has entered into an installment agreement with a public utility or has had temporary or permanent credits placed on the renter's public utility account.

         SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] INSTALLMENT AGREEMENTS--RESTRICTIONS ON DISCONNECTION AND COLLECTION FROM CUSTOMERS.--

                   A. A public utility shall offer its residential customers with arrears incurred during the coronavirus disease 2019 public health emergency an installment agreement with a payback term that is at least double the number of months for which a customer failed to pay at least fifty percent of the amount owed for that month; provided that a public utility shall not be required to offer a payback term of more than twenty-four months, and a customer may request a shorter payback term.

                   B. A public utility shall not assess nor seek to recover late fees against a residential customer for arrears incurred during the coronavirus disease 2019 public health emergency. An installment agreement entered into pursuant to Subsection A of this section shall not include late fees for arrears incurred during the coronavirus disease 2019 public health emergency.

                   C. A public utility shall not discontinue electricity, gas, water or wastewater service to or pursue collection against a residential customer for arrears incurred during the coronavirus disease 2019 public health emergency if:

                               (1) the customer enters into an installment agreement and makes payments under the installment agreement; or

                               (2) the customer's payments are deferred or forgiven due to economic hardship.

         SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] UTILITY BILL RELIEF PROGRAM--REQUIREMENTS--ACCOUNT CREDITS.--

                   A. The "utility bill relief program" is created and shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of the Utility Affordability and Relief Act.

                   B. A public utility shall enroll in the utility bill relief program a residential customer who has arrears incurred during the coronavirus disease 2019 public health emergency if the customer requests to participate in the utility bill relief program and:

                               (1) the customer meets the qualifications to receive assistance pursuant to the federal low income home energy assistance program; or

                               (2) the customer has an annual income equal to or less than two hundred fifty percent of the federal poverty level proven by:

                                         (a) verification that a member of the customer's household has qualified for public assistance through the federal supplemental nutrition assistance program, the federal temporary assistance for needy families program, the UCB patient assistance program, the federal special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children or the children, youth and families department's child care assistance program; or

                                         (b) a certification of economic hardship establishing that the customer's annual household adjusted gross income, as defined in the Income Tax Act, is below two hundred fifty percent of the federal poverty level.

                   C. A public utility may enroll into the utility bill relief program a residential customer who has arrears incurred during the coronavirus disease 2019 public health emergency, who requests to be enrolled in the program and who submits to the public utility a certification of economic hardship. A residential customer may submit a certification of economic hardship to the public utility if the customer is prevented from being able to make payments on an installment agreement because the customer or a member of the customer's household:

                               (1) became unemployed during the coronavirus disease 2019 public health emergency and remains unemployed;

                               (2) had working hours reduced by forty percent or more during the coronavirus disease 2019 public health emergency and remains working under reduced hours;

                               (3) is suffering or has suffered severe symptoms of the coronavirus disease 2019 resulting in a present financial impact on the customer;

                               (4) left employment to care for one or more dependents that needed care because of the coronavirus disease 2019 public health emergency and continues to provide such care; or

                               (5) is otherwise experiencing a significant financial hardship specified by the customer that prevents the customer from being able to make payments on an installment agreement.

                   D. For a residential customer enrolled in the utility bill relief program pursuant to submitting a certification of economic hardship, the public utility shall defer the start of an installment agreement by at least four months unless the customer requests a shorter time period. If a public utility determines upon a showing of good cause that a residential customer who submits a certification of economic hardship will not be able to foreseeably repay arrears incurred during the coronavirus disease 2019 public health emergency through an installment agreement, the public utility may forgive all of the customer's arrears.

                   E. For a residential customer enrolled in the utility bill relief program, a public utility shall apply to the customer's account a temporary credit equal to one-half of the arrears incurred by the customer during the coronavirus disease 2019 public health emergency and shall enter into an installment agreement, or modify an existing installment agreement, with the customer for the customer to pay the remainder of the arrears on the customer's account incurred during the coronavirus disease 2019 public health emergency. The temporary credit shall represent the amount of arrears incurred by the customer during the coronavirus disease 2019 public health emergency that could be permanently forgiven by the public utility pursuant to the utility bill relief program. If the customer makes all payments on the installment agreement, the temporary credit applied to the customer's account shall become a permanent credit and the customer's arrears incurred during the coronavirus disease 2019 public health emergency shall be satisfied.

                   F. If a residential customer defaults on an installment agreement entered into pursuant to Subsection E of this section, the temporary credit of one-half of the arrears incurred during the coronavirus disease 2019 public health emergency shall be removed from the residential customer's account and replaced by a permanent credit that is equal to and in addition to the amount paid by the customer on the installment agreement before default. After the permanent credit and all payments made by the customer before default are applied to the customer's account, the customer shall be responsible for the remaining amount due on the account. A public utility may collect remaining arrears from a residential customer who defaults on an installment agreement as allowed by law.

                   G. A public utility, with the agreement of the customer, may modify an installment agreement entered into pursuant to Subsection E of this section at any time to allow a customer additional time to make payments on outstanding arrears and prevent the customer from defaulting on the installment agreement.

                   H. An electric cooperative may stop enrolling customers in the utility bill relief program if the electric cooperative determines that the total costs of the utility bill relief program to be recovered from customers, reflecting actually applied temporary and permanent credits and projected administrative costs, would exceed one percent of total customer electricity bills from the prior year; provided that an electric cooperative shall not stop enrolling in the utility bill relief program customers who qualify for the program pursuant to Paragraph (1) of Subsection B of this section.

                   I. A public utility may rely on a signed and submitted certification of economic hardship without further documentation or verification of the facts in the certification; provided that a public utility may verify the facts in a certification of economic hardship if verification appears warranted, and the public utility may use a third party to conduct verifications and share customer data with the third party for these purposes as allowed by law.

                   J. A residential customer who qualifies for the utility bill relief program shall be deemed eligible for low-income programs offered by a public utility under the Efficien