Marks' comments on Special Assessment to Rio Rancho to Pay Costs of Undergrounding Power Lines, Upheld by Supreme Court.

The City of Rio Rancho's position was that 'PNM should pay' for the undergrounding of power lines done for aesthetic reasons. Unfortunately, that's not the way it works -- PNM doesn't pay, PNM's rate payers around the state would have had to pay for the extra costs incurred in Rio Rancho. The Supreme Court decision affirms that when it comes to utility matters, a city's jurisdiction stops at its own boundaries, and cannot interfere with the PRCs role of determining rate and service issues on a statewide level.

With this basic issue behind us, we can move forward to work on creative and constructive ways to give residents of Rio Rancho, Paradise Hills, and other areas the means to control undesired overhead power lines.