Vote Solar participated in a hearing at the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission today that was the culmination of several months of work by the electric utilities, the Commission staff, customers, the solar industry, and others to address some of the basic renewable energy policies the Commission has had in place for a number of years.

The purpose of the hearing was to present testimony on, and discuss, the “RCT” or reasonable cost threshold (NM’s version of a rate impact cap). The RCT acts, effectively, as a cap on renewable progress. For 2011, it was 2% of all customers’ aggregated overall annual electric charges, increasing by 0.25% per year until Jan 1, 2015, at which time it will be 3%. Vote Solar is advocating for a methodology that would require the benefits of solar to be considered, thus expanding the amount of solar development in the state. It may not be hugely sexy . . . but trust us, it’s very important!

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