NM commissioners approve PNM’s EV incentive plan

Public Service Company of New Mexico has gotten state approval to issue new rebates for electric vehicles and chargers, including money specifically for low-income communities.

The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission voted Thursday to pass PNM’s Transportation Electrification Program for 2024 to 2026. It eventually will cost New Mexicans a few dollars more per month on their electric bills so the utility can afford to roll out the plan.

Under this program, PNM will commit more than $15 million in electrification incentives, according to the utility’s 2023 application.

That includes rebates for new or used EVs, EV chargers and electric bicycles for New Mexicans.

There’s also money to support larger, nonresidential customers’ infrastructure needs.

The rebates come at a time when PNM expects the number of electric cars to continue ramping up in the next few years. The utility reported 6,700 EVs in its service area in 2022, and it expects that number to grow by nearly five times, to 33,280 EVs, by 2026, according to PNM’s 2023 program application.

PNM is required by law to file transportation electrification plans. The utility’s 2024-2026 program isn’t the first of its kind, but it is the first plan since the PRC adopted a rule in late 2022 that had more specifics on program details, including how utilities should work to expand electric transportation for low-income communities.

Deborah Kapiloff, transportation electrification policy adviser at Western Resource Advocates, told the Journal it’s exciting to see PNM move in a direction of supporting New Mexicans, especially those that need the most support during the electrification transition.

“This is a great plan with a really robust suite of transportation electrification programs that all PNM customers can benefit from, but it gives special attention to PNM customers who are low-income and in underserved communities,” she said.

The total cost of the Transportation Electrification Program added up to $37 million in PNM’s original application, and $8 million, or about 22% of that, was reserved for low-income communities. The final total program cost will likely adjust slightly with commissioners’ modifications.

In approving the plan, state regulators spent a few hours debating the dollars PNM wanted to allocate for administrative purposes, as well as education, outreach and marketing. They ultimately cut some of that funding and moved some dollars around.

Costs to activate the Transportation Electrification Program and its rebates will be passed on to PNM customers. It will cost about a few dollars more a month for the average residential New Mexican using about 600 kWh per month, based on PNM’s application projections.

The utility would file the exact rider rate annually by the end of February, according to PNM’s application, and New Mexicans would start seeing those charges on their bills in May.

“This program is essentially a tax on all ratepayers,” Commissioner James Ellison said. “And I do think it’s incumbent on us to ensure that the program is efficient, that those ratepayer dollars are used efficiently and appropriately.”

The rebates

Under PNM’s newly approved program, the utility will offer rebates up to $4,000 for the first 225 low-income applicants buying a car that costs up to $55,000, according to the PRC recommendation for the program.

Ellison voiced concern that many low-income consumers would be taxed for the rebates and only a few would benefit. The other two commissioners voiced support for the rebates, nonetheless, and the commission ultimately approved the plan.

The program also has a slew of rebates for EV chargers, including for multifamily homes, such as apartments.

New Mexicans can get up to $500 and low-income communities can get up to $750 toward a level 2 charger purchase under PNM’s plan. PNM would offer the rebates for up to 4,500 customers, and the utility has to reserve 225 rebates for low-income customers.

PNM also proposed incentives for homebuilders to install or update EV chargers in new and old homes, such as 2,100 rebates of up to $150 toward certain EV chargers in new home construction, and thousands of rebates of up to $1,500 to $3,500 targeted at costs such as charger upgrades.

The utility also crafted programs that will help manage charging loads, as a drastic increase in home EV charging could cause a significant burden on the electric grid.

This program expands beyond electric cars. It includes an electric bike rebate, in which the first 300 New Mexicans who buy a qualifying electric bicycle could receive a $250 incentive. There would also be a $1,000 incentive set aside for the first 150 low-income customers.

There are also larger-scale focuses, such as $3 million budgeted for mass transmit rebates.

It could take a few months for applications to come out for the new rebates while PNM gets the Transportation Electrification Program going. The PRC allowed the ongoing 2022-2023 electrification program to continue for another 90 days so that PNM could implement the 2024-2026 program.

PNM has to file its next transportation electrification plan by June 2026.