New Mexico customers of El Paso Electric could be paying about a dollar more a day for power after the utility filed a fresh rate case that aims to recover roughly $400 million in recent infrastructure spending.
The company said Friday it has submitted a general rate request to the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission to recoup investments across its New Mexico system. If regulators approve, the average residential bill would go up in two stages, with each phase adding around 50 cents a day. Company officials stressed that no one will see higher bills until the commission signs off and that the process typically stretches for months.
According to KFOX14/CBS4, the filing was rolled out at a press conference in Las Cruces and targets the recovery of about $400 million that El Paso Electric says it has poured into its New Mexico system. The outlet reported that Vice President James A. Schichtl outlined the two-step approach, with an initial jump of roughly 50 cents a day on the typical residential bill, followed later by another increase of about the same size. KFOX14/CBS4 also noted the utility offered only broad timing for a series of public meetings, saying they will run from April 7 through 9.
On its online rate-case hub, EPE’s website frames the request as an effort to recover capital spending aimed at boosting reliability, expanding capacity, and supporting economic development in the region. The utility reminds customers that rate reviews can take six to twelve months, with final prices set by the commission after formal testimony, hearings and any negotiated settlements.
What The Company Says The Increase Will Pay For
Chief Executive Officer Kelly Tomblin told reporters the case is focused on investments that are already in service, essentially asking to be reimbursed for work that is finished and running. She also tried to tamp down expectations that the full request would sail through untouched.
"I've never seen a utility get what they've asked for," Tomblin said, underscoring that regulators often trim the size of rate hikes.
The filing also includes some targeted tweaks to who pays what. The company is proposing a Low-Income Rider that would eliminate the monthly customer charge for qualifying New Mexico households, as well as updated rate structures designed so large-load users, such as data centers and heavy industrial customers, "pay their fair share," according to KFOX14/CBS4.
Regulatory Hurdles And Earlier Rulings
El Paso Electric is not dealing with just one set of referees. On the Texas side of its territory, regulators recently pared back a separate 2025 rate request after an administrative review, and those findings are likely to echo into the New Mexico case.
KVIA reported that the Public Utility Commission of Texas adopted parts of an administrative recommendation that would cut the utility’s requested revenue and allocate some of the costs of the new Newman 6 generation unit to New Mexico customers. That Texas decision is expected to shape settlement talks in New Mexico, where consumer advocates and other parties will be pressing over cost-sharing and protections for ratepayers.
How To Follow The Case And Get Help
Customers who want to track every twist in the case will be able to review official notices and filings on the company’s rate-case site and on the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission’s docket once it is opened. EPE’s rate-case page already includes a set of FAQs and links to customer assistance programs, and the utility says it will post the specific times and locations for its April 7 to 9 community meetings there as they are finalized.
For now, the $1-a-day figure is the company’s starting position. Months of testimony, negotiations and commission deliberations will determine how much of that request ends up on New Mexico customers’ monthly bills, and history suggests regulators usually trim the number before the final order goes out.
