New Mexico's state utility regulators have ordered a formal investigation into Public Service Company of New Mexico's billing practices, after residents across the state reported unusually high electricity bills following a summer meter-reader shortage. Some customers said PNM charged them for several months of energy use at once, with complaints especially acute in Otero and Lincoln counties.
Commission Approves Investigation Unanimously
The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission voted unanimously to approve the investigation order, according to the Albuquerque Journal. The order authorizes commission staff to formally investigate billing complaints, with investigators set to examine neighborhoods in Otero and Lincoln counties and possibly look into billing irregularities elsewhere in the state as well. Investigators must report their findings back to the commission.
Commission staff had already asked for this step earlier in the month. As newsdata.com reported, staff at the commission asked for a formal investigation into PNM's handling of meter-reading shortages that led to estimated and delayed customer bills. PNM issued 28,472 estimated bills in August alone, accounting for 5.5 percent of its scheduled bills that month.
Meter-Reader Shortage Began in Alamogordo and Ruidoso
The trouble traces back to July, when PNM began estimating residential bills in the Alamogordo and Ruidoso areas because of a shortage of meter readers, according to Source New Mexico. By August, the shortage had spread to other PNM service areas across the state, and fewer meter readers meant more estimated bills, per nm.news. The shortage affected customers across PNM's service areas statewide.
At a September town hall in Alamogordo, some residents said their monthly bills had climbed as high as $1,700, the same Source New Mexico report noted. One complaint cited by the New Mexico Department of Justice described a bill that jumped from $150 to $766 in a single month. The department's letter to PNM, hand-delivered to PNM president and CEO Don Tarry, cited at least 16 similar complaints from ratepayers, according to the Journal's earlier reporting.
Regulators Question Pricing-Tier Impact
Commission staff proposed examining what caused the billing issue, whether customers were overcharged, whether PNM followed state rules, and how to prevent a recurrence, according to the New Mexico Political Report. Staff also proposed testing a sample of meters in Alamogordo and Ruidoso and issuing monthly status reports along with a final public report.
The commission's Consumer Relations Division is a resource for customers with billing disputes, and the related case is numbered 26-0000147 in the PRCe360 portal, per nm.news. Separately, the state Department of Justice asked PNM to explain its use of estimated bills and whether its estimation process was filed with the state, directing the utility to respond by September 23, according to KOB 4. PNM has said it calculates an estimated bill by averaging the previous month's meter reading with the reading from the same month of the prior year.
PNM Says It Has Caught Up, Points to Smart Meters
PNM cited the shortage of meter readers as the reason for the billing issues and has said it would waive late fees, avoid disconnections for nonpayment, and offer payment extensions or flexible arrangements to affected customers, the Journal reported. PNM spokesperson Eric Chavez said the utility understands concerns about meter-reading and billing issues, and in a statement said PNM is committed to supporting affected customers and will cooperate with the commission's investigation, providing information about what occurred, the customer impacts, and its response.
The meter-reading shortage led to estimated or delayed bills. Customer bill disputes and calls from customers with billing questions are running about 3 percent higher than last year, and some customers have seen unusual bills caused by estimation or delayed billing.
PNM began installing smart meters in September under a $185 million, two-and-a-half-year program that aims to replace more than 560,000 meters across the state by the end of 2028, according to Kurrant. The rollout follows a roughly $6.23 monthly increase in average residential base rates that took effect April 1. Public Service Company of New Mexico is the state's largest electric utility, and its parent company, TXNM Energy, has agreed to sell its stake in PNM for $11.5 billion to Blackstone.
Not an Isolated Problem
New Mexico isn't alone in dealing with angry ratepayers this fall. In Los Angeles, customers have posted sharply higher Los Angeles Department of Water and Power bills on social media, including a $3,322 charge for a San Fernando Valley homeowner and a $35,700 bill for Canter's Deli, according to the Los Angeles Times. LADWP attributed its high bills to record summer heat and heavier air-conditioning use pushing customers into more expensive pricing tiers, with Tier 1 rates rising from 22 cents to 27 cents per kilowatt-hour between January 2025 and this October, a 23 percent jump. A UCLA expert cited by the Times said Southern California Edison's typical household rate rose about 4 percent over three years, compared with DWP's 45 percent increase.
