| Status: All residential customers in the
State are allowed to choose natural gas suppliers, but almost no one is
participating. |
| Overview: New Mexico has allowed unbundled
gas service for all consumers since the late 1980s. However, almost all
residential customers still purchase their gas from local distribution
companies (LDCs), in large part because marketers have been unable to
compete with the LDCs' prices. According to the New Mexico Public
Regulation Commission, about 18 residential customers and
1,998 small commercial customers of the State's largest natural gas utility, Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM), were purchasing gas from eight non-LDC suppliers in
December 2007. Marketers must first complete a "request form" for an on-system transportation contract with PNM, pay a fee of $720, provide a New Mexico tax identification number, and submit appropriate financial records to PNM's risk management department for approval. A customer choice pilot program by PNM was approved by the commission in August 1997 and offered PNM's 400,000
customers a choice of gas suppliers with deliveries starting in December
1997. Even after the commission encouraged marketers to
advertise, only a few customers switched suppliers. |
| EIA State Data: In 2006,
New Mexico
had 533,971 residential and
47,234 commercial customers. They consumed 30 and 23 billion cubic feet of
natural gas, respectively. The average prices paid for natural gas purchased
from local distribution companies by residential and commercial customers
were $12.64 and $10.65 per thousand cubic feet, respectively. |
| Eligibility and Participation in Retail Choice
Programs: |
Eligibility and Participation by Customer Class, December 2007
Customer Type |
2006 Customer Total |
Eligible December 2007 |
Participating December 2007 |
|
Total |
Percent of 2006 Customer Total |
Total |
Percent
of Eligible |
Percent
of 2006 Customer Total |
|
Residential |
533,971 |
533,971 |
100 |
18 |
(*) |
(*) |
|
Commercial** |
47,234 |
47,234 |
100 |
1,998 |
4.2 |
4.2 |
|
Total |
581,205
|
581,205 |
100 |
2,016 |
0.3 |
0.3 |
|
(*) = Less than 0.05 percent.
**Commercial participation numbers include only small-volume commercial customers.
Sources: 2006 Customer Total: Energy Information Administration, Natural Gas Annual
2006 (October 2007). Eligibility and Participation: New Mexico Public Regulation
Commission (February 2008).
|
|