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ALAMOGORDO — The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission is finalizing plans to hold a public meeting in Alamogordo to hear directly from residents about electric billing problems with PNM. The commission has approached local government officials about hosting the event, though local government is unaffiliated with the issue, tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, September 29, from noon to 2 p.m.
Area state representatives are expected to take part, along with Sen. Jim Townsend, the Republican who has represented Senate District 34 since January 2025. The PRC says it will issue a formal press release within the next few days confirming the venue and other details as an official public notice.
Residents should treat the time and format as tentative until then.
Why the meeting is happening
The session follows weeks of frustration over unusually high summer electric bills and pressure from the press, local officials and the public.. According to the PRC, the complaints it has received have come mainly from customers in the Alamogordo area, beginning in July. The root cause, PNM says, was a meter reader shortage that forced the utility to estimate electric use, leaving tens of thousands of customers with bigger bills.
Locally, PNM reports 8,764 meters in the area, many of which were placed on estimated or delayed billing after the company began estimating reads on July 21; allegedly customers weren't notified until August 3, about two weeks later. Because reads were delayed, many households received a single bill covering two months of summer power. Some customers say that combination pushed them into higher-priced usage tiers. Multiple Alamogordo resident told state investigators that PNM overestimated their usage in June and July, and that the estimates plus the 60-day billing cycle drove their accounts into a higher rate tiers.
Growing pressure on the utility
The billing issue has drawn attention well beyond city hall. Mayor Sharon McDonald contacted PNM leadership directly, stressing that the problems were systematic rather than isolated customer service complaints. In September, Attorney General Raúl Torrez's office hand-delivered a letter to Don Tarry, president and CEO of PNM's parent company TXNM Energy, asking the utility to explain its billing practices. That letter listed at least 16 similar complaints filed with the state Department of Justice.
PNM has apologized and says it has essentially caught up on missed meter reads and does not expect further estimated bills. The utility has also suspended late fees and disconnections for nonpayment for all affected customers, and it hosted customer assistance events in Alamogordo in August and again on September 12. Still, the PRC has said customers may continue to see unusual bills due to estimation or delayed billing, that the situation is highly concerning to the commission, and that it is weighing whether further action is needed.
How to prepare
Residents planning to attend or comment should bring copies of recent bills, any notices from PNM about estimated readings, and past bills from the same months in prior years for comparison. Watch for the PRC's official notice later this week for the confirmed location and instructions on signing up to speak. Stay turned for an official release from the PRC for specifics
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