A nominating committee concluded interviewing candidates for the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission on Thursday.

The interviews kicked off on Wednesday and the committee  interviewed three candidates each day.

The nominating committee will provide recommendations to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for who should be appointed to serve on the important regulatory body.

The PRC oversees utility regulation, which means the commissioner will be a key player in how the energy transition plays out in New Mexico. The three-member commission also determines if utility rates are fair. Additionally, they oversee telecommunications including broadband.

Thursday, the committee interviewed state Sen. Greg Nibert, R-Roswell, current PRC Commissioner James Ellison and engineer and business owner Debra Hicks.

The committee will meet again on Nov. 7 to discuss which names to submit to the governor.

Greg Nibert

“New Mexico is at a crossroads on various fronts,” Nibert said. “I believe that one crossroad is energy, and we have an opportunity in front of us to take advantage of the resources that are available to a state position as ours, and I find it exciting to be a part of that process, because I think we have, for years, exported our energy. Other states have taken the great wealth that’s been produced here and created tremendous wealth in other states. I don’t want to see us just be an export market. I’d like to see us take and harness energy and use it within the state to create jobs and opportunities for our children. I believe that the PRC plays an important role in creating that future.”

Nibert is reaching the end of his term as a state senator and said that he wants to continue serving the people of New Mexico. Outside of the state legislature, he is an oil and gas lawyer.

He said that he has been critical of the PRC in the past, but said that the switch from an elected body to an appointed body has led to a positive transformation.

Nibert said that there is not enough electricity in southeast New Mexico to accommodate the demand of the oil and gas industry. Oil and gas companies in the Permian Basin want to power more of their infrastructure using electricity from the grid. The Permian Basin Petroleum Association has called access to electricity the biggest concern for companies in that region, which includes parts of Texas and southeast New Mexico.

Nibert said the Grid Modernization Act has tools in it that would help fast-track projects.

“I think in this world that we’re in, we’re going to need more authority like that to act more as opportunities arise,” he said.

Nibert gave the example of someone wanting to invest in locating a data center in New Mexico and, he said, in that scenario the state would need to act fast “because if we don’t, it’s going to find its home someplace else.”

He said that when he got done with the legislative session in 2021 when the Community Solar Act passed, he had 15 messages on his answering machine from solar developers wanting to locate a community solar project on his farm. He said that immediate response scared him and he wondered “what did we just do as a legislative body.”

Nibert said he does not know why there have been so many delays in getting the community solar projects off the ground.

Nibert said he questions whether society will ever be at the point where it can phase out fossil fuels and rely solely on renewable energy.

“I think it’s a mistake for any public policymaking body to make demands that can’t be achieved,” he said.

James Ellison

Ellison was appointed to the PRC in 2022 after the body switched from an elected position to appointed. Prior to that, he worked at Sandia National Laboratories. While at Sandia, Ellison researched issues like the integration of renewable resources onto the grid and battery storage. He also has experience working for an electric utility.

“I do enjoy the process of really looking at the problem holistically, and trying to come up with a solution to it, and proposing that solution. I think because I had not come from a regulatory background, I think a lot of my ideas probably seemed out of the box, but I think that that was useful to the discussion,” he said.

If appointed to a full six year term, Ellison said he would like to focus on the energy transition and ensuring that rates remain affordable during that process.

Already New Mexico’s electric grid has a high penetration of renewable resources. Ellison mentioned that PNM projects that more than half of its electricity will come from renewable sources next year.

“I think we just need to continue to be vigilant about keeping the rates reasonable through that transition,” Ellison said.

The energy transition has already had its share of challenges in New Mexico. Supply chain problems led to delays in building solar arrays intended to replace the electricity from the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station.

Ellison talked about the workshop that the PRC had with PNM to discuss summer resource adequacy plans.

Ellison said that going forward it is important that the integrated resource planning process includes “some very detailed modeling and testing to be assured that the resource mix that’s coming out of that process can actually meet demand.”

The integrated resource plan that utilities file every few years essentially acts as a roadmap of what the utility expects it will need in terms of generation assets to meet demands in the future.

Ellison said that if the integrated resource plan calls for a lot of wind energy, the modeling and testing should include historical years where wind energy performed poorly. He said that it is important to ensure that the other generation resources can compensate if the wind isn’t producing enough electricity.

Debra Hicks

Hicks described herself as an advocate.

“I tend to advocate for many things that are very important to me, but most important to me is to create a New Mexico where my children, or your children, stay here. I am very frustrated with our exportation of human capital from New Mexico,” she said.

She said serving on the PRC would allow her to make a difference for the state of New Mexico by ensuring there is a reliable electric grid.

Hicks was less clear about whether she would be able to devote her full-time attention to the PRC if she is appointed.

“I’m willing to commit whatever it takes,” she said.

Hicks said she has spoken about transferring the ownership of her business. 

The state statute says that “commissioners shall give their entire time to the business of the commission, and shall not pursue any other business or vocation or hold any other office for profit.”

Hicks said it is important for the commissioners to engage with the community.

When it comes to climate change, she questioned the urgency in her answers. Hicks said some environmental considerations are urgent needs. She gave the example of flooding in Roswell. 

“What each individual person calls urgent is different. We need to be responsive to their concerns,” she said.

She said if appointed she hopes to be a good policy maker and effective listener for the residents of New Mexico.