N.M. Code R. § 17.9.570.10

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 9, May 7, 2024

Section 17.9.570.10 - METERING OPTIONS

A. General.

(1) A qualifying facility contracting to provide power may displace its own load. The utility may require appropriate metering. Billing for any power from the utility will be at the utility's approved rate applicable to the service provided to the qualifying facility in accordance with Subsections A-G of 17.9.570.12 NMAC.

(2) The tariff filed by each utility pursuant to Subsection H of 17.9.570.13 NMAC shall include the offer to any qualifying facility that has not contracted to receive capacity payments, the metering options in Subsections B, C and D of 17.9.570.10 NMAC.

(3) The options of Subsections B, C and D of 17.9.570.10 NMAC may involve time-of-day metering if the utility has in effect time-differentiated rates and metering for the class of customer to which the qualifying facility belongs or if the parties negotiate time-differentiated payments to the qualifying facility.

B. Load displacement option. If the qualifying facility wishes primarily to serve its own load, the utility shall agree to interconnect with a single meter or meter set measuring flow from the utility to the qualifying facility; billing for any power from the utility will be at the utility's approved tariff applicable to the service provided to the qualifying facility; there will be no additional customer charge and no payment by the utility for any excess energy which might be generated by the qualifying facility.

C. Net metering option.

(1) The utility shall install the metering necessary to determine the net energy delivered from the qualifying facility to the utility or from the utility to the qualifying facility for each time-of-use or single rate period, as applicable, during a billing period; the net energy delivered to either the qualifying facility or to the utility is the difference between the energy produced by the qualifying facility's generation and the energy that would have otherwise been supplied by the utility to the qualifying facility absent the qualifying facility's generation.

(2) The net energy delivered from the qualifying facility to the utility shall be purchased by the utility at the utility's applicable time-of-use or single period energy rate as described in Subsection B of 17.9.570.11 NMAC; the qualifying facility shall be billed for the net energy delivered from the utility in accordance with the tariffs that are applicable to the qualifying facility absent the qualifying facility's generation; the qualifying facility shall also be billed for all demand and other charges in accordance with the applicable tariffs. At the end of the billing period the utility shall net all charges owed to the utility by the qualifying facility and all payments owed by the utility to the qualifying facility. If a net amount is owed to the qualifying facility for the billing period, and is less than $50, the payment amount may be carried over to the following billing period. If a net amount is owed to the qualifying facility and is $50 or more, the utility shall make payment to the qualifying facility prior to the end of the next billing period.

(3) If provision of the net metering option requires metering equipment and related facilities that are more costly than would otherwise be necessary absent the requirement for net metering, the qualifying facility shall pay all incremental costs associated with installing the more costly metering equipment and facilities. An additional customer charge to cover the added costs of billing and administration may be included in the tariff if supported with evidence of need for such charge.

D. Separate load metering (simultaneous buy/sell) option. The utility shall install the metering necessary to determine separately:

(1) all the energy produced by the qualifying facility's generator; and

(2) all of the power consumed by the qualifying facility's loads; the utility shall purchase all energy produced by the qualifying facility's generator at the utility's applicable time-of-use or single period energy rate as described in Subsection B of 17.9.570.11 NMAC. The qualifying facility shall purchase all power consumed at its normally applicable rate; an additional customer charge to cover the added costs of billing and administration may be included in the tariff if supported with evidence of need for such charge.

E. Metering configurations. Metering configurations used to implement the provisions of 17.9.570 NMAC shall be reasonable, nondiscriminatory, and shall not discourage cogeneration or small power production.

N.M. Code R. § 17.9.570.10

17.9.570.10 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.570.10 NMAC, 10-15-08, Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10, May 24, 2022, eff. 5/24/2022