New Employee Orientation

The Public Regulation Commission will be nationally recognized for its culture of excellence, innovation, and forward-looking policies that advance New Mexico’s regulatory, energy, and environmental goals.

Public Service

• We serve the public interest by working to imporove New Mexico.
• We are good stewards of the public resources and confidence entrusted to us.

Integrity and Imparitality

• We apply independent judgment, and we base each decision on its merits.
• We are fair, honest, and transparent, and we follow through on our commitments.

Openness and Inclusivity

• We respect and support each other, and value the contributions of each person.
• We listen to the point of view of all who engage with us.

Excellence

• We consistently put forth our personal and professional best.
• We constantly seek to improve our work.

The NMPRC’s successes are highlighted by its efforts in promoting renewable energy and ensuring fair and reasonable rates for utility services. Notably, the commission has been instrumental in advancing New Mexico’s Renewable Energy Act, which mandates a significant portion of the state’s electricity to come from renewable sources. This aligns with wider efforts to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change.

Here are some notable cases and decisions involving the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (NMPRC)

1. Citizens for Fair Rates et al. v. NMPRC (2022): In this case, organizations representing energy consumers challenged the Energy Transition Act (ETA) on constitutional grounds. The New Mexico Supreme Court upheld the Commission’s final order, rejecting the constitutional challenges and supporting the ETA based on a reasonable construction of relevant statutes.
2. Public Serv. Co. of N.M. v. N.M. Pub. Regulation Comm’n (2019): This case involved several challenges related to the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, San Juan Generating Station, Four Corners Power Plant, rate banding, PNM’s prepaid pension asset, and adoption of Method A. The New Mexico Supreme Court addressed these issues in its decision, reflecting on the Commission’s actions and regulatory decisions​.
3. Community Solar Regulations (2022): The New Mexico Supreme Court upheld community solar regulations approved by the PRC, following a lawsuit brought by Southwestern Public Service Company. This decision supported the state’s move towards renewable energy initiatives​.
4. PNM Rate Case (2024): The PRC approved rates that may lead to lower utility bills for customers of Public Service Company of New Mexico, avoiding a nearly 10 percent rate increase for average residential customers. This decision stemmed from an application by the utility and aimed to balance the interests of both the utility and its customers

• Electricity
• Natural Gas
• Telecommunications
• Water 
• Wastewater systems

The Chief of Staff is responsible for all day-to-day operations of the agency and the Chief of Staff’s Office works with divisions across the agency to implement and oversee agency priorities, take on special projects, and ensure the agency is accessible and responsive to the public and our many stakeholders.

The Chief of Staff Office at the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (NMPRC) comprises several key roles essential to the agency’s operations and strategic initiatives.

The Public Information Officer (PIO), manages media relations and public communications. Also creates outreach campaigns, handles media requests, and promotes the NMPRC’s work through press releases, newsletters, and website updates. The efforts include highlighting the agency’s accomplishments, policies, and initiatives to enhance transparency and public engagement.

Director of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, serves as the primary liaison between the NMPRC and the legislature, as well as other state and federal agencies. He ensures effective communication, coordination of legislative matters, and integration of new policies and legislation.

Project Manager, focuses on optimizing internal processes and enhancing agency morale. Duties include managing deadlines, calendar events, and preparing and posting the agenda for commission meetings on the website and to staff in a timely manner. Responsibilities also include managing social media accounts, handling the Chief of Staff’s calendar, and collaborating with external agencies to organize presentations, lunch-and-learns, and training opportunities. The Project Manager works with the Chief of Staff to ensure the agency meets its strategic plan goals, collaborates with IT to keep the website updated, and ensures necessary resources are available. Additionally, this role involves managing various projects, including this employee orientation training.

Together, these roles support the NMPRC’s mission by ensuring effective communication, legislative coordination, strategic planning, and public outreach.

The Public Regulation Act provides that the Commission may delegate authority to the Commission’s hearing examiners to preside over any matter before the Commission, including rulemakings, adjudicatory proceedings, and administrative matters. The hearing examiners’ primary duties include managing adjudicatory proceedings, conducting trial-type hearings, and developing comprehensive evidentiary records upon which they issue recommended decisions that include findings of fact and conclusions of law.

• The Hearing Examiners Division houses the Commission’s six Hearing Examiners or administrative law judges (ALJs) and one legal assistant. The Commission’s ALJs are known as “hearing examiners” principally because the Commission’s enabling act, the Public Regulation Act, specifies that appellation.
• Commissioners use recommended decisions as the basis for their actions in adjudicatory proceedings. Hearing examiners preside over diverse and complex types of cases, some of which include rate-setting; certificates to build and acquire generating resources; mergers; sales and acquisitions; declaratory orders; territorial disputes; quality of service; purchased power and gas cost recovery; interconnections; arbitrations; mediations; abandonments of utility plant or service; complaints; permits; financings; and enforcement actions across the major industries regulated by the Commission.
• Hearing Examiners conduct procedural conferences, hearings, and oral arguments; issue bench requests to elicit relevant facts; ensure that a full evidentiary record is established; make rulings on procedural and evidentiary issues; admit evidence into the record; analyze evidence, briefs, applicable laws, rules, and orders; and issue recommended decisions, including findings of fact and conclusions of law. Their recommended decisions are then presented to the Commission for consideration and issuance of a final order, enabling the Commission to meet statutory deadlines 100 percent of the time.

The Office of General Counsel (OGC) serves as legal counsel to the Commission.

• In the role as General Cousel, OGC attorneys advise the Commissioners concerning the substantive and procedural legal issues in dozens of pending adjudicative and rulemaking matters, as well as in formal consumer complaints.
• The OGC attorneys also humbly represent the Commission in case-related litigation before the state and federal courts and in all appeals before the New Mexico Supreme Court.

The Legal Division is statutorily mandated to advocate for the public interest on behalf of the Utility Division in litigated matters before the Commission.

• In addition to its public interest advocacy work, the Legal Division also provides legal counsel to all bureaus within the Utility Division, and to the Commission (except in contested proceedings before the Commission).
• Legal Division attorneys also review and implement legislation, rules and regulations, regulatory opinions of sister state and federal agencies, and judicial opinions, both state and federal. They also draft and file extensive legal documents, including routine motions and other pleadings, discovery in complex litigation, legal briefs that advocate the positions and recommendations of NMPRC utility experts, and rules implementing legislative and Commission policies.
• During litigated proceedings Legal Division attorneys cross-examine expert witnesses of regulated entities or interveners, including consumer or environmental advocacy groups, and occasionally must participate in oral argument.

The Utility Division consists of four Bureaus which support the Commission: Telecommunications, Engineering, Accounting and Economics.

The Bureaus support the Commission in the regulation of retail service by investor-owned and cooperative entities of electricity, natural gas, telecommunications, and water and wastewater systems. The division provides this support by independently advocating for the public interest by balancing the financial interests of regulated entities while ensuring consumers are provid ed safe and reliable service at reasonable prices. The division makes presentations in the form of sworn testimony and exhibits in support of fair, just, and reasonable rates for utility and telecommunications services.

The Division’s core mission is to provide engineering, economic, and accounting expertise in ratemaking proceedings for telecommunications carriers and public utilities.

Telecommunications Bureau

• The Telecommunications Bureau is engaged in a number of roles related to ongoing regulation of intrastate telecommunications services, in addition to providing input and stewardship to oversight of state and federal broadband programs and efforts to promote advanced telecommunications services throughout New Mexico.
• This includes the ongoing migration from traditional public switched telephone service regulation to oversight of programs aimed at the distribution of broadband service in rural areas of the state.

Engineering Bureau

• The Engineering Bureau performs analyses and provides expert testimony on issues related to electric, natural gas, water and wastewater utilities.
• In support of such, the Engineering Bureau evaluates plant design, specifications, capacity, reliability, depreciation rates, resource planning, expenses, abandonment of assets, and requests for certificates of public convenience and necessity.
• The Engineering Bureau evaluates compliance and performance, adequacy and reliability of services and helps to determine that these are done at fair, just and reasonable rates.

Economics Bureau

• The Economics Bureau provides expert review, analysis and recommendations regarding electric, natural gas, water and wastewater utility matters under the direction of Commission precedent, Commission rules, and local, state, and federal law. This is accomplished primarily through the presentation under oath of written and oral testimony as evidence in public hearings before the Commission.
• The Economics Bureau provides such recommendations regarding various utility matters, including but not limited to the following: utility applications for revision of rates, Renewable Energy Act plans, energy efficiency program plans, utility financing applications, transportation electrification program plans, grid modernization, community solar, resource acquisitions, sale and abandonment proceedings, and various other matters as necessary.
• The Economics Bureau serves as the division’s sole resource specifically addressing annual Renewable Energy Act plans, energy efficiency program plans, and utility financing applications
• Another significant role of Economics Bureau is to provide review, analysis and recommendations regarding the allocation of a regulated utility’s revenue requirement across rate classes, the design of rate structures by customer class, and a utility’s cost of capital and capital structure in utility rate cases.

Accounting Bureau

• The primary role of Accounting Bureau is to provide analysis and recommendations for all NMPRC regulated utilities regarding the impact of the utility operations on its financial statements, including assets, liabilities, income statements, income taxes, operation and maintenance expenses, and regulatory assets, in accordance with applicable statutes, rules, and laws.
• The Accounting Burea also reviews detailed electronic modeling of utility cost of service in support of revenue requirements established in rate cases.
• This entails the validation of multi-million-dollar revenue requirement increases and the resulting impact on utility customer rates. This review is supported by expert analysis and supporting testimony.
• The bureau may also perform audit reviews of the books and records of jurisdictional utility companies.
• Finally, the bureau examines utility statutory and rule compliance of utility recovery of the incurred cost of purchased fuel, gas, or energy, review of Transportation Electrification Plans, Grid Modernization filings, and rulemakings.

The Pipeline Safety Bureau (PSB) conducts inspections on over 48,000 miles of intrastate pipelines consisting of approximately 2,244 miles of intrastate gas transmission pipelines, 29,235 miles of regulated gas gathering pipelines, 14,807 miles of distribution gas mains, 1,749.6 miles of hazardous liquid trunk lines, non-rural crude oil gathering lines, and CO2 pipelines, and on more than 290 master meter and LPG inspection units.

• New Mexico’s pipeline inspection program consists of standard, specialized (operator qualification, gas transmission integrity management, distribution integrity management, excavation damage, public awareness, control room management, high risk, and drug and alcohol), follow-up, incident investigations, construction and testing, tank, and Section 114 inspections.
• The PSB has enforcement authority over excavators, one-call centers, and underground facility operators, and may assess administrative penalties of up to $5,000 for a first offense and up to $25,000 for subsequent violations.
• The PSB investigates all excavation damages (damages are required to be reported by rule) and may initiate on-site citations for probable violations of the Statutes and Rules.

The Consumer Relations Division (CRD) serves as the agency’s point of contact for New Mexicans with inquiries or disputes relative to services provided by industries regulated by the NMPRC.

• The CRD’s regulatory authority includes the utility, and telecommunication industries.
• CRD generally works to resolve disputes within 10 business days and when warranted obtains equitable refunds or credits for consumers if any violations of agency rules have occurred.
• CRD compliance officers interact with consumers and industry representatives to resolve disputed issues in an equitable manner.

ASD supports the Commission in budget and accounting, procurement, case docketing, information technology systems services and personnel services.

ASD consists of four bureaus: Budget and Finance, Records, Information Technology, and Human Resources.

Budget and Finance Bureau

• The Budget and Finance bureau process hundreds of fiscal transactions each year as well as oversee procurement for the NMPRC.
• The bureau works with all divisions of the NMPRC to ensure fiscal transactions are processed in accordance with state statute, manual of model of accounting practices, and governmental audit and accounting standards.
• In working with the Commission, Chief of Staff, and divisions within the NMPRC, the Budget and Finance bureau assesses the needs of the agency, and compiles and submits the annual budget request for the following fiscal year before September of each year.
• Additionally, the Budget and Finance bureau is responsible for the completion of the annual financial statement audit for the NMPRC

Records Bureau

• The Records bureau  are responsible for case docketing, IPRA requests, filing and processing of advice notices, creating record propers for advice notices, and receipt and postings of incoming filings daily.

Information Technology Bureau

• The Information Technology bureau is responsible for providing IT support for all employees within the PRC as well as ensuring that open meetings are broadcasted to the public via YouTube.

Human Resources

• Human Resources is an essential part of the NMPRC, providing employee relations, recruitment, compensation and benefits, onboarding, training, and development for the agency.
• HR’s commitment to hiring the most qualified candidates helps to ensure NMPRC provides professional and adequate services to the public.
• In addition to seeking new outstanding team members, HR works to retain the expert staff the NMPRC already has through responsive, knowledgeable, and courteous service, as well as expedient handling of personnel matters.
• HR also advises management on sensitive, complex, and difficult recruitment, placement, and affirmative employment issues.

Software/Platforms Used by Agency

• SHARE / ELM SHARE– Timekeeping, Payroll, Benefits, Personal Info / Training platform.
• eDocket– Electronic docket information management system located on the Internet for the general public to search and view cases and rule-making proceedings known as cases or Dockets.
• BoardEffect– Online platform used to collaborate, share documents, annotate meeting materials, and more.
• Zoom or Microsoft Teams– Video conferencing platforms
• NMPRC Website– Official New Mexico Public Regulation Commission Website
• Employee Intranet Page (located in the upper right corner of our website)
  • Employee Resources
  • Staff Newsletter
  • Employee of the Month
  • Staff list (with pictures)
  • Do you have a suggestion?- We have a page for that as well!
  • Do you have a website suggestion? Fill out this template: New Website Feedback Form and send to: jordan.gutierrez@prc.nm.gov
  • Make sure to be connected to the VPN or in the Santa Fe office to access this page.

PRC Logo Resources

• NMPRC Complete Brand Guide 2022-2023 (1)
• How to Add Virtual Background to Zoom Guide 
  • Email jordan.gutierrez@nm.prc.gov for Zoom virtual backgrounds
• Outlook Signature Instructions

Social Media Platforms

• Facebook: NM Public Regulation Commission
• Instagram: @NM.PRC
• LinkedIn: New Mexico Public Regulation Commission
• X: @NMPRC1

Parking

• We have several parking options for you if you require parking your vehicle.  Please contact Miranda Mascarenas (miranda.mascarenas@prc.nm.gov) for more information.

Transportation

• For individuals residing outside of Santa Fe, the New Mexico Rail Runner is the primary mode of transportation for commuters traveling from Belen, Los Lunas, Isleta Pueblo, Albuquerque, and Bernalillo to Santa Fe. Please refer to their schedule here.

Local Info

• Downtown SantaFe Map
• Santa Fe Downtown Restaurants (Just a few of them)
• Santa Fe Calendar of Events

Mailing Address

Public Regulation Commission

P.O. Box 1269

Santa Fe, NM 87504

Physical Address

142 W Palace Ave (Next to the Palace Prime Restaurant)

Santa Fe, NM 87501

Lobby hours are 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Employee Contact Numbers

PRC Staff Directory (Last Updated March 8, 2024)

Additional questions, concerns, or just need someone to talk to?

We have a fantastic team here at the NMPRC, and I’m sure anyone would be happy to help. If they look like they’re juggling a dozen tasks or you can’t find anyone in the building, feel free to call, text, or email me. I’m here to help! (Jordan Gutierrez) at jordan.gutierrez@prc.nm.gov / (505) 795-4399.