{"id":347241,"date":"2026-06-23T16:51:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T16:51:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/347241\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T16:51:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T16:51:55","slug":"southern-new-mexico-residents-push-back-against-proposed-el-paso-electric-rate-hike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/347241\/","title":{"rendered":"Southern New Mexico residents push back against proposed El Paso Electric rate hike"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KTSM<\/a>) \u2014 Southern New Mexico ratepayers made their message clear at a public hearing in Las Cruces on Monday night, June 22, overwhelmingly voicing opposition to a proposed rate increase by El Paso Electric.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

The utility is seeking regulatory approval for a rate hike that would ultimately add over $40 to the average household\u2019s monthly electric bill by the fall of 2027. If approved, the request would amount to a $70 million increase for New Mexico customers.<\/p>\n

The hearing, hosted by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, drew dozens of concerned citizens, many of whom questioned the necessity of the increase. Critics argued that the company\u2019s focus on profitability conflicts with the needs of the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir goal, of course, is to make money,\u201d one resident remarked during public comment. \u201cTheir concern is not for the ratepayers. It no longer feels like a public utility.\u201d<\/p>\n

Local civil rights attorney Israel Chavez echoed these sentiments, pointing to the company\u2019s financial performance. \u201cI think it\u2019s wrong for El Paso Electric to profit over $140 million last year and then ask to increase rates on Southern New Mexico ratepayers,\u201d Chavez said.<\/p>\n

El Paso Electric representatives maintain that the rate adjustment is essential to recover costs from over $400 million in investments into its grid infrastructure in Southern New Mexico. Jim Schichtl, vice president of Regulatory Strategy for El Paso Electric, emphasized the need to maintain infrastructure and business operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking for that balance between what we have to recover to run our business in New Mexico,\u201d Schichtl said. \u201cTexas doesn\u2019t pay for our efforts in New Mexico. New Mexico doesn\u2019t pay for our efforts in Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company also noted that New Mexico has not seen a rate increase in years. Schichtl said that because rates remained stable for the last decade, customers may perceive the eventual adjustment as a more significant jump.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had, as I said, very low rates in New Mexico for the last ten years. So to some extent this impact that customers are seeing is really you haven\u2019t had a rate change for ten years. You\u2019re going to get a bigger increase when you finally do change rates,\u201d Schichtl said.<\/p>\n

Despite the utility\u2019s defense, critics like Chavez are questioning the long-term relationship between Southern New Mexico and the Texas-based provider, suggesting that residents should scrutinize whether the current model serves their interests.<\/p>\n

The rate case remains in its early stages. A final vote by the Public Regulation Commission is not expected until early next year, leaving months for further deliberation and community engagement.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KTSM) \u2014 Southern New Mexico ratepayers made their message clear at a public hearing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":347242,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,32675,140,139,2383,24068],"class_list":["post-347241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-electric","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news","tag-new-mexico","tag-rate-increase"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=347241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/347242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=347241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=347241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=347241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}