SB 142
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AN ACT
RELATING TO THE GRID MODERNIZATION ROADMAP AND GRANT PROGRAM;
REQUIRING THE ENERGY, MINERALS AND NATURAL RESOURCES
DEPARTMENT, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE PUBLIC REGULATION
COMMISSION, TO DEVELOP A ROADMAP FOR GRID MODERNIZATION;
ADDING SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND CHARTER SCHOOLS AS ELIGIBLE
LOCATIONS FOR PROPOSED PROJECTS; AMENDING THE DEFINITION OF
"GRID MODERNIZATION".
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 71-11-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2020,
Chapter 15, Section 1) is amended to read:
"71-11-1. GRID MODERNIZATION ROADMAP AND GRANT
PROGRAM.--
A. The energy, minerals and natural resources
department, in consultation with the public regulation
commission, shall develop a roadmap for grid modernization
that shall detail priorities and strategies to modernize
New Mexico's electric grid.
B. The department shall establish a grid
modernization grant program to support implementation of a
modern grid by providing grants to eligible projects proposed
by:
(1) municipalities and county governments;
(2) state agencies; SB 142
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(3) state universities;
(4) public schools;
(5) post-secondary educational institutions;
and
(6) Indian nations, tribes and pueblos.
C. The department shall adopt rules establishing
the application procedure, the required qualifications for
projects and the purposes for which the grant may be used.
In approving grants, consideration shall be given to:
(1) the extent to which the project improves
electrical system efficiency, reliability, resilience and
security; lowers operations and maintenance costs; and meets
energy demands through a flexible, diversified and
distributed energy portfolio consistent with New Mexico's
energy goals;
(2) the extent to which the project
incorporates a new technology or a new or innovative
application of an existing technology that will provide
useful information to the state, utilities, electric
cooperatives and the general public related to grid
modernization;
(3) the degree to which the project fosters
the general public's, students' or a specific government or
industry sector's overall understanding and appreciation of
the benefits of modernizing the electric grid; SB 142
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(4) the extent to which the project
complements or coordinates with the resource planning of a
public utility as required by the Public Utility Act;
(5) the extent to which the project
stimulates in-state economic development, including the
creation of jobs and apprenticeships; and
(6) the speed of deployment of the project.
D. Grants shall be awarded on a competitive basis,
and priority shall be given to proposals that use matching
funds from non-state sources. The grant program shall seek
to fund applicants from:
(1) Indian nations, tribes and pueblos;
(2) rural communities served by rural
electric cooperatives;
(3) rural communities served by
investor-owned public utilities;
(4) urban or semi-urban municipalities and
counties;
(5) institutions of higher education; and
(6) school districts and charter schools.
E. Projects receiving a grant from the grid
modernization grant program shall be required to coordinate
with the electric service provider that serves the entity in
order to ensure that the program does not adversely impact
electrical system efficiency, reliability, resilience and SB 142
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security. If no electric service connection exists at the
location of a proposed project, notice of the project shall
be given to the electric service provider in whose territory
the project is proposed to be located.
F. The department shall provide a report on the
grid modernization grant program to the legislative finance
committee prior to each regular legislative session. The
report shall include:
(1) a list of grant recipients;
(2) the amount and date of each grant;
(3) a description of each project funded;
and
(4) a description of how each project
contributes to grid modernization and demonstrates increased
electric grid reliability, resilience and security; creates
economic benefits; or pilots or demonstrates new technologies
or new implementations of existing technologies.
G. For the purposes of this section:
(1) "department" means the energy, minerals
and natural resources department;
(2) "grid modernization" means improvements
to electric distribution or transmission infrastructure,
including related data analytics equipment, that are designed
to accommodate or facilitate the integration of renewable
electric generation resources or net-zero carbon resources SB 142
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with the electric distribution grid or to otherwise enhance
electric distribution or transmission grid reliability, grid
security, demand response capability, customer service or
energy efficiency or conservation and includes:
(a) advanced metering infrastructure
that facilitates metering and providing related price signals
to users to incentivize shifting demand;
(b) intelligent grid devices for
real-time system and asset information at key substations and
large industrial customers;
(c) automated control systems for
electric distribution circuits and substations;
(d) communications networks for service
meters;
(e) distribution system hardening
projects for circuits and substations designed to reduce
service outages or service restoration times;
(f) physical security measures at key
distribution substations;
(g) cybersecurity measures;
(h) energy storage systems and
microgrids that support circuit-level grid stability, power
quality, reliability or resiliency or provide temporary
backup energy supply;
(i) electrical facilities and SB 142
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infrastructure necessary to support electric vehicle charging
systems;
(j) new customer information platforms
designed to provide improved customer access, greater service
options and expanded access to energy usage information;
(k) construction of increased
electric grid distribution capacity and transmission grid
infrastructure, including substations and the purchase of
high-capacity transmission lines, transformers and other
electric grid equipment; and
(l) enabling the application of
artificial intelligence to identify methane leaks and
opportunities to reduce or eliminate methane leaks; and
(3) "net-zero carbon resource" means an
electricity generation resource that emits no carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere, or that reduces methane emitted into the
atmosphere in an amount equal to no less than one-tenth of the
tons of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere, as a
result of electricity production."