A SMARTER WAY

IMPORTANT NEWS!

The energy future of New Mexico is being decided now.
And we have a chance for our voices to make a difference.
But only if we take the time to get involved.

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Santa Fe County’s Board of County Commissioners unanimously passed Resolution No. 2025-124 on November 11, 2025, which calls for a study to consider the possibility of the County developing a public electric energy system. This would serve the residents of the county rather than continuing to allow major corporations to control our energy future-- and reap the profits from providing that power to us-- such as with the potential sale of PNM to the private equity firm, Blackstone.

In light of that, CEC Vice-President Randy Coleman, an electrical engineer, has produced two white papers.

THE FIRST was done in conjunction and cooperation with New Mexico Energy Policy Research Advisory and is titled: Energy Ethics in New Mexico — The New Mexico Energy Paradox.  This paper explores the history of our state’s relationship with major oil and gas corporations and how that has affected both the people of New Mexico and the financial resources that have provided a significant portion of the state’s annual budget. It also asks the question that, given the state’s goals for transitioning to renewal energy, whether maintaining those kinds of corporate relationships in the electrical energy sector is in the best interest of our population including the increased rates for the cost of power we will be facing.

THE SECOND white paper, titled A Smarter Way — A Resilient, Proven, and Inevitable Energy Future for Santa Fe County, revisits and expands on the alternative concept for a distributed and federated microgrid system that CEC first proposed in 2023. That concept paper was introduced to demonstrate that the AES project, as an example, was not the only option, nor necessarily the best option, for a fair, safe, and equitable approach to providing energy to residents of the county.  In this latest paper, Randy, offers a step-by-step approach the County could adopt to realize the publicly owned power system as suggested by their resolution.

As CEC’s mission from its inception was to educate our population about renewable energy projects in the county, we are publishing both these papers for your consideration.  While they are somewhat lengthy, they are straightforward and easy to read and digest. And we believe, represent the most important energy decision facing the state since oil was first discovered in the territory of New Mexico. 

Which is why we urge you to take the time to read them.

We will also maintain here a copy of the original Smarter Way concept paper should you wish to compare how the new one has built on and added details and specifics to that initial effort.

For the first time in this long fight, we may now have the opportunity to have a voice in controlling the future of energy in New Mexico to serve us, the residents and citizens, by mobilizing to create a smarter, safer, more cost effective and environmentally positive power system. Because the alternative is continuing to cede our resources of sun and wind to out-of-state interests who wish to exploit those for sale to Arizona and California to profit their shareholders and the growing class of billionaires at the expense of our health, safety and ownership of what is actually ours. 

We hope you will help seize this opportunity because, together.

WE CAN DO THIS!