By Miguel Suazo, DeAnza Valencia, and Jacob Everhart
The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (“PRC”) has advanced extensive revisions to New Mexico’s Community Solar Rule, 17.9.573 NMAC. The amendments would substantially reshape project selection, interconnection review, subscriber protections, low-income participation, consolidated billing, and ongoing compliance obligations for subscriber organizations and qualifying utilities.
The revisions follow an extended stakeholder process in PRC Docket No. 24-00258-UT and represent the most significant restructuring of the Community Solar Program since its launch.
The PRC’s proposed revisions are not yet final and remain subject to a rehearing period that extends through August 3, 2026.
Why It Matters
The revised framework shifts the program from an initial project selection model toward a more closely regulated operational program. Subscriber Organizations (“SOs”) would face greater accountability for representations made during the bidding process, while utilities would assume expanded responsibilities for interconnection reporting, electronic enrollment, customer billing, and payment administration.
For developers, the changes may improve process transparency and predictability. The rule changes also create additional compliance costs, reporting obligations, and enforcement exposure that should be considered during project development, financing, acquisition, and operation.
Increased Transparency and PRC Oversight
The amendments provide for greater public and PRC involvement in the competitive solicitation process. The program administrator (“PA”) must develop the solicitation framework through stakeholder consultation, obtain PRC approval of non-price scoring criteria, conduct at least one public stakeholder meeting, and maintain a searchable public resource containing questions and answers concerning the solicitation.
The bid application fee would change from a flat $1,000 payment to $500 per megawatt. The maximum capacity available to any single SO and its affiliates would increase from 20% to 30% of the applicable utility allocation.
The PA would select projects totaling up to 150% of available capacity to proceed into interconnection review. Utilities must begin reviewing projects in scoring order and make reasonable efforts to review projects on different feeders or substations concurrently. Utilities may decline capacity where insufficient local load exists to offset project generation without transmitting electricity to another portion of the distribution system.
Bid Commitments Become Enforceable Obligations
The revisions strengthen requirements governing the local low-income, and economic development commitments used to obtain scoring points. SOs must materially fulfill their bid commitments, submit annual compliance attestations, and obtain prior written approval before modifying a scored project.
The PA and PRC may audit compliance and impose penalties for material failures, including fines, loss of capacity, suspension, or revocation of authorization to operate. Transfers affecting a SOs qualifying New Mexico business status before mechanical completion may also result in project disqualification.
Project relocation would remain possible only under narrow conditions involving the original point of interconnection, proximity to three-phase facilities, common land ownership, unchanged project capacity, continued site control, and no adverse cost or community solar project queue impacts.
Expanded Subscriber and Low-Income Protections
SOs must meet the applicable low-income subscription requirement by commercial operation and provide monthly validated subscriber lists identifying low-income status. The amendments also broaden methods for establishing low-income eligibility and continue community-based education and outreach efforts.
Uniform disclosure forms must clearly explain subscription charges, projected savings, administrative costs, cancellation provisions, and estimated monthly and annual bill impacts. False or misleading advertising is expressly prohibited, including presenting a solar-credit discount as though it were the subscriber’s total utility-bill discount.
Utilities must also implement electronic systems for enrollment materials and subscriber updates within 90 days after the amendments become effective.
Consolidated Billing and Unsubscribed Energy
Each qualifying utility must submit a consolidated billing proposal by January 1, 2027, followed by an implementation plan within 180 days after PRC approval. Once implemented, participation will be mandatory for all SOs in that utility’s territory.
Utilities will apply subscriber-specific savings rates, display community solar charges and credits on customer bills, provide detailed net-credit reports, and remit subscription charges to subscriber organizations within 60 days of facility meter readings.
SOs will bear consolidated billing costs based on awarded capacity and may not opt out. Those obligations will transfer to any successor assuming a project’s awarded capacity or be redistributed among remaining subscriber organizations if no successor exists.
The revised rules also require utilities to purchase unsubscribed energy banked for more than 12 months at the avoided-cost rate established under the utility’s PRC-approved qualifying-facility tariff.
Practical Takeaways
Developers and SOs should treat solicitation commitments as continuing regulatory obligations rather than aspirational bid representations. Project documents, financing structures, acquisition agreements, subscription practices, and compliance systems should account for monthly reporting, mandatory consolidated billing costs, transfer restrictions, and potential PRC audits.
Early coordination with utilities and the program administrator will be particularly important for projects involving relocation, ownership changes, interconnection constraints, or revisions to scored commitments.
How Beatty & Wozniak Can Help
Beatty & Wozniak’s Renewable Energy and Utility Practice advises developers, subscriber organizations, utilities, landowners, and investors on all aspects of New Mexico’s evolving community solar regulatory framework. Our attorneys regularly assist clients with project siting and development, regulatory strategy, PRC proceedings, interconnection and utility agreements, project acquisitions and financing, land use and real property issues, and compliance with New Mexico’s Community Solar Act and implementing regulations.
As the PRC continues refining the Community Solar Program, early legal planning will be increasingly important. We work with clients to evaluate proposed rule changes, structure projects to maximize competitive scoring opportunities, navigate interconnection and permitting requirements, prepare for evolving reporting and compliance obligations, and mitigate regulatory risk throughout a project’s development and operational life cycle.
Whether developing a new project or managing an existing portfolio, Beatty & Wozniak is well positioned to help clients successfully navigate New Mexico’s rapidly evolving community solar landscape. Please contact us to arrange a consultation. For more information, please contact Miguel Suazo, DeAnza Valencia, or Jacob Everhart.