PNM offers to help customers manage electric bills amid record heat

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — This heat wave has a lot of people cranking up their AC and customers are feeling the pinch as they open their PNM bill.

The company hit two record-setting system peaks this past month, prompting them to give customers a helping hand.

Shannon Jackson with PNM said this heatwave wasn’t in a lot of people’s budget and now they’re having to come up with money they don’t have.

“We have seen record-setting temperatures and along with that is record-setting energy usage that we see on our side. So of course, what relates with that is high bills,” said Jackson.

The increased need also had PNM’s Good Neighbor Fund run low.

“We have one very long-standing program, the Good Neighbor fund which is for low-income customers who are having trouble paying their past due PNM bill. It is an income-qualified program,” she said.

To address the need, PNM’s parent company, PNM Resources, has donated $250,000 back to The Good Neighbor Fund and another $250,000 into a new Summer Fund.

“The wonderful thing about this new Summer Heat Bill Help Fund is that it now expands that qualification to include middle-income customers and it doesn’t have to be a bill that is past due,” she said.

Those who qualify for the Summer Heat Bill Help Fund will get a $150 credit to their account. If their bill is less than that, the rest will go towards your next bill.

“If you do qualify for both the Good Neighbor Fund Program and this new relief program that we put together then we will give you both,” said Jackson.

The deadline to apply for the summer fund is Sept. 30 but funds are going quickly. Those who don’t qualify for either fund can ask for payment extensions or apply for their budget billing program.