Leadership
New Mexico amended its enabling legislation (Public Facility Energy Efficiency & Water Conservation Act [6-23 NMSA 1978]) in 2009. The legislation allows for guaranteed energy savings performance contracting projects in schools, local government, universities and k-12. The legislation also provides that A guaranteed utility savings contract shall include a written guarantee from the qualified provider that annual utility cost savings and conservation-related cost savings shall meet or exceed the cost of the conservation measures.
A GESPC may extend beyond the fiscal year in which it becomes effective and may provide for payments over a period of time not to exceed twenty-five years or the expected useful life of the most durable energy or water conservation measure in the contract, whichever period of time is less.
The legislation requires a reporting requirement. The scope of work enabled in legislation is all energy savings, operational savings, future cost avoided, water savings, renewable savings behavior training and allows for capital infusion. The legislation allows for the retention of savings and requires a savings guarantee. Summary reports are required. The state program is not funded through legislation.
New Mexico state’s legal authority has issued an opinion letter in support of GESPC.
New Mexico passed its original enabling legislation in 1995 that allowed for public institutions to use energy performance contracting program to pay for energy retrofits. But it wasn’t until a $15 million GESPC at New Mexico State University in 2013 that this alternative financing mechanism began to gain traction in the state. Today, New Mexico has completed more than $85 million in projects that are reducing the strain on taxes by updating public buildings and reducing utility costs and energy and water consumption.
The New Mexico State University GESPC is expected to save more than $1.3 million annually. The project, which was completed in December 2015, includes two solar parking canopies that allowed NMSU to generate more than 50 percent of its own power during fiscal year 2016. The solar canopies total 180 kilowatts of power at full capcity, produced more power than NMSU purchased from El Paso Electric during its first year. Energy efficiency improvements have has also reduced the university’s overall electricity and natural gas consumption.
Program
The New Mexico program is self-funded through a charge on GESPC projects between 1 and 3 percent of the project cost. The fee is charged to the end-user (facility owner) and is paid out of their project’s energy savings for use of the state’s GESPC program, contract instruments, project oversight and technical assistance.
The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resource Department’s program has multiple team members including a program administrator and an in-house engineer that provide project oversight and technical assistance.
In a combined effort, EMNRD and the General Services Department solicited firms through an RFP process to create a pre-qualified list of energy service companies (ESCOs). Seven companies out of the eleven applicants were approved for direct contracting by any state and local governmental agency through the price agreement below:
- Statewide Price Agreements #15-000-14-05759AA, AB, AC, AD, AE, AF, and AG, New Mexico General Services Department, Purchasing Division
New Mexico uses standardized documents for RFQ, Evaluation Guide and Contracts for State projects, and these documents are publicly posted. New Mexico benchmarks state buildings as well as tracks all state GESPC projects including information on who did performed the work, projected savings, the guaranteed savings, and the annual M&V report. New Mexico does not provide any awards or recognition for project success, nor do they link to other organizations recognition programs.
In the latest Race to the Top, New Mexico reported $43,248.261 in completed projects, with more than $18 million worth of projects implemented in 2015 alone.
ESC Chapter
New Mexico has an ESC Chapter that is less than five years old. The Chapter is made up of multiple public and private sector members in addition to the GESPC program administrator. The Chapter meets monthly around the state. The state’s GESPC program manager participates in the New Mexico ESC Chapter as the Public-sector co-chair.