- NMUS Amended Motion for Rehearing From Arthur Firstenberg

 [EXTERNAL] 22-00058-UT - 2024-11-18 - NMUS Amended Motion for Rehearing
From Arthur Firstenberg <bearstar@fastmail.fm>
Date Mon 11/18/2024 4:26 PM
To Records, PRC, PRC <PRC.Records@prc.nm.gov>
Cc eflores@stelznerlaw.com <eflores@stelznerlaw.com>; cmelendrez@abcwua.org <cmelendrez@abcwua.org>;
dahlharris@hotmail.com <dahlharris@hotmail.com>; kherrmann@stelznerlaw.com
<kherrmann@stelznerlaw.com>; nwinter@stelznerlaw.com <nwinter@stelznerlaw.com>; bvigil@bernco.gov
<bvigil@bernco.gov>; ndowney@bernco.gov <ndowney@bernco.gov>; mdemeule@bernco.gov
<mdemeule@bernco.gov>; Kenmartinez@bernco.gov <Kenmartinez@bernco.gov>; mreno@reno-energy.com
<mreno@reno-energy.com>; Mateo@transformconsulting.com <Mateo@transformconsulting.com>;
VJoe@bernco.gov <VJoe@bernco.gov>; dking@cabq.gov <dking@cabq.gov>; browland@cabq.gov
<browland@cabq.gov>; jenniferlucero@cabq.gov <jenniferlucero@cabq.gov>; lb@tahoeconomics.com
<lb@tahoeconomics.com>; lynch.cara.nm@gmail.com <lynch.cara.nm@gmail.com>;
desaillan.ccae@gmail.com <desaillan.ccae@gmail.com>; Jlesky@leskylawoffice.com
<Jlesky@leskylawoffice.com>; bandrews@consultbai.com <bandrews@consultbai.com>
2 attachments (259 KB)
NMUS Amended Motion for Rehearing.pdf; NMUS Amended Motion for Rehearing.doc;
CAUTION: This email originated outside of our organization. Exercise caution prior to clicking on links or
opening attachments.

Attached for filing in Case No. 22-00058-UT is New Mexicans for Utility Safety's Amended Motion for
Rehearing. It is amended to indicate that the motion is opposed by PNM.
Thank you.
Arthur Firstenberg
President, New Mexicans for Utility Safety
P.O. Box 6216
Santa Fe, NM 87502
(505) 471-0129
bearstar@fastmail.fm
BEFORE THE NEW MEXICO PUBLIC REGULATION COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE COMP ANY OF )
NEW MEXICO’S APPLICATION FOR AUTHORIZATION )
TO IMPLEMENT GRID MODERNIZATION )
COMPONENTS THAT INCLUDE ADVANCED METERING )
INFRASTRUCTURE AND APPLICATION TO RECOVER ) Case No. 22-00058-UT
THE ASSOCIATED COSTS THROUGH A RIDER, )
ISSUANCE OF RELATED ACCOUNTING ORDERS, )
AND OTHER ASSOCIATED RELIEF )
NEW MEXICANS FOR UTILITY SAFETY’S AMENDED MOTION FOR REHEARING
COMES NOW New Mexicans for Utility Safety (“NMUS”) and files this Amended
Motion for Rehearing of the Final Order of the Public Regulation Commission (“PRC” or
Commission”) in Case No. 22-00058-UT, issued on October 17, 2024. It is amended only to
state that the positions of all parties have been requested and that this motion is opposed by
PNM.
NMUS requests rehearing on the matters in paragraphs 77 and 78 of the Final Order. The
Commission’s complete refusal to evaluate the health and environmental effects of smart meters
is unlawful, unjust, and unreasonable. The Commission’s threat to fine NMUS up to $100,000
for continuing to urge the Commission to fulfill its mandate to protect the public health and
welfare is likewise unlawful, unjust, and unreasonable.
I. THE COMMISSION HAS VIOLATED ITS ORDER ADMITTING NMUS AS A
PARTY.
In its Motion for Leave to Intervene (December 8, 2022), NMUS made explicit that it
was intervening for the sole purpose of exposing the harm to health and environment of smart
meters, and not to advocate for opt-outs or for any other reason:
NMUS’s organizational mission has to do with the health, safety and environment
of all New Mexicans... NMUS is not concerned with opt-outs...
2
Motion for Leave to Intervene, at 4. PNM opposed NMUS’s Motion for Leave to Intervene, and
in its reply of December 27, 2022,1 NMUS further clarified:
An opt-out program is completely irrelevant to whether [PNM’s] smart meters
will injure and kill people...
(at 9).
After NMUS filed these unambiguous statements of its purpose for requesting party
status, the Commission granted NMUS’s Motion for Leave to Intervene. In its order granting
NMUS party status, the Commission acknowledged NMUS’s mission and purpose for
intervening:
In its motion to intervene, NMUS states that it “is an association of residential
customers of PNM and other investor-owned public utilities and rural electric
cooperatives in New Mexico who are concerned about the health, safety and
environmental impacts of [AMI] on all New Mexicans.”2
In the next paragraph, the Commission granted NMUS intervenor status conditioned only on
NMUS supplying a list of members and a document showing that Mr. Firstenberg is an officer of
the organization who is authorized to represent NMUS before the PRC.3 The Commission
thereby consented to the presentation of evidence and argument by NMUS related to health and
environment. NMUS has been a full party to these proceedings for the past two years, without
objection from any party, advocating on the issues that were its only and unambiguous purpose
for intervening, i.e. health and environment.
1 Attached as Exhibit A to Unopposed Motion for Leave to Reply to PNM’s Objection to
NMUS’s Motion to Intervene
2 Order on Public Service Company of New Mexico’s Objection to New Mexicans for Utility
Safety’s Motion for Intervene (January 19, 2023), ¶ 22
3 Ordering paragraph A
3
The Commission’s refusal to admit4 any of NMUS’s five expert5 and six lay6 witnesses,
or to evaluate any of the thousands of pages of science offered by its experts, violated NMUS’s
rights as a full party to this proceeding, and violated the Commission’s order admitting NMUS as
a party.7
The Commission’s refusal to address, evaluate, or comment on any of the comments
submitted in writing or orally by approximately 500 members of the public testifying to severe
effects of smart meters on their health and environment, including injury, death, and
homelessness, violates multiple sections of the Commission’s rules.8
II. THREATENING TO FINE NMUS $100,000 FOR SPEAKING ABOUT THE
ISSUES FOR WHICH IT WAS GRANTED PARTY STATUS VIOLATES
NMUS’S LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS
The Commission’s threat to henceforth penalize NMUS up to $100,000 for simply
wanting to protect the public health and welfare and daring to speak about the lethal effects of
smart meters (Final Order ¶ 78, invoking NMSA 1978, Section 62-12-4 (1993)) violates
NMUS’s rights as an intervenor as provided in Section 1.2.2.23 NMAC, as well as the rights of
the public whom NMUS represents. It also violates NMSA 1978, Sections 62-3-2(A)(2) and 62-
3-2(A)(4), which provide that “preservation of the public health, safety and welfare” is one of the
reasons for being of this Commission and must be evaluated in every proceeding and every
4 Order Granting PNM’s Objection and Motion to Strike the Testimony of NMUS (Feb. 14,
2023)
5 Joshua Hart, Eric Windheim, Arthur Firstenberg, Sharon Goldberg, and Michele Hertz
6 Melissa Chalmers, Jeanne Ford, Jeromy Johnson, Charlotte Kikel, Ann Mattingley, and Sirpa
Autio. All Direct Testimonies were filed on January 27, 2023.
7 Public Comments, Document ID 1216076; Transcript of Proceedings, March 17, 2023 Public
Comment Hearing; April 19, 2024 Public Comment Hearing (not transcribed).
8 The sections violated include 1.2.2.10(F)(4), 1.2.2.20(C), 1.2.2.37(A)(3), 1.2.2.34(D),
1.2.2.37(C)(2)(c), 1.2.2.7(C)(3), 1.2.2.23(F), 1.2.2.32(A)(2), 1.2.2.32(D)(1), 1.2.2.23(F), and
1.2.2.36(B)(2) NMAC. See Opposition of New Mexicans for Utility Safety to PNM’s Motion to
Strike Portions of Its Initial Brief (June 30, 2024), pp. 3-5.
4
decision that the Commission issues. See Griffith v. New Mexico Public Service Commission,
1974-NMSC-024, ¶ 8, 86 N.M. 113, 520 P. 2d 269 (“One of the purposes of enacting [the Public
Utility] Act is to preserve the public health, safety and welfare”). It also violates NMUS’s rights
to freedom of speech under Amendment One of the U.S. Constitution and under Article II,
Section 17 of New Mexico’s Constitution. It also violates the rights of all New Mexicans under
Amendment Fourteen of the U.S. Constitution and under Article II, Section 18 of New Mexico’s
Constitution not to be deprived of life and property without due process of law.
CONCLUSION
Accordingly, NMUS hereby requests that the Commission:
(a) reopen Case No. 22-00058-UT;
(b) hold public hearings on the health and environmental effects of AMI, including in
these hearings all the evidence and testimony submitted in Cases Nos. 15-00312-UT and 22-
00058-UT;
(c) draw conclusions about this evidence; and
(d) reverse its approval of AMI as part of grid modernization in Case No. 22-00058-UT.
Respectfully submitted,
NEW MEXICANS FOR UTILITY SAFETY
/s/ Arthur Firstenberg
Arthur Firstenberg
P.O. Box 6216
Santa Fe, NM 87502
(505) 471-0129
bearstar@fastmail.fm
November 18, 2024
BEFORE THE NEW MEXICO PUBLIC REGULATION COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF )
NEW MEXICO’S APPLICATION FOR AUTHORIZATION )
TO IMPLEMENT GRID MODERNIZATION )
COMPONENTS THAT INCLUDE ADVANCED METERING )
INFRASTRUCTURE AND APPLICATION TO RECOVER ) Case No. 22-00058-UT
THE ASSOCIATED COSTS THROUGH A RIDER, )
ISSUANCE OF RELATED ACCOUNTING ORDERS, )
AND OTHER ASSOCIATED RELIEF )
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that on this date of November 18, 2024, I served a true and correct copy of New
Mexicans for Utility Safety’s Motion for Rehearing by email on the following parties:
ABCWUA
L. Erica Flores
Christopher P. Melendrez
Dahl Harris
Keith W. Herrmann
Nann W. Winter
Bernalillo County
Bernice Vigil
Natalia Sanchez Downey
Marah deMeule
W. Ken Martinez
Maureen L. Reno
Mateo Dunne
Valerie Joe
City of Albuquerque
Devon King
Bryan Rowland
Jennifer Lucero
Larry Blank
CCAE
Cara Lynch
Charles de Saillan
IBEW
Justin Lesky
NM AREA
Brian Andrews
James Dauphinais
eflores@stelznerlaw.com;
cmelendrez@abcwua.org;
dahlharris@hotmail.com;
kherrmann@stelznerlaw.com;
nwinter@stelznerlaw.com;
bvigil@bernco.gov
ndowney@bernco.gov;
mdemeule@bernco.gov;
Kenmartinez@bernco.gov;
mreno@reno-energy.com;
Mateo@transformconsulting.com;
VJoe@bernco.gov;
dking@cabq.gov;
browland@cabq.gov;
jenniferlucero@cabq.gov;
lb@tahoeconomics.com;
Lynch.Cara.NM@gmail.com;
desaillan.ccae@gmail.com;
Jlesky@leskylawoffice.com;
bandrews@consultbai.com;
jdauphinais@consultbai.com;
2
Kelly Gould
Peter Gould
Katrina Reid
NMAG / DOJ
Andrea Crane
Courtney Lane
Gideon Elliot
Jack Smith
Maria Oropeza
Joshua LaFayette
Jocelyn Barrett
NMPRC General Counsel
Robert Lundin
Alejandro Rettig y Martinez
Arthur O’Donnell
NMPRC Staff
Bradford Borman
Ed Rilkoff
Elisha Leyba-Tercero
Jack Sidler
Jonah Mauldin
Marc Tupler
NMUS
Arthur Firstenberg
Theresa Kraft
PNM
Brian Buffington
Carey Salaz
Debrea Terwilliger
John Verheul
Henry Monroy
Raymond L. Gifford
Richard Alvidrez
Stacey Goodwin
Vecinos United
Andres Valdez
Walmart, Inc.
Andrew D. Teague
Randy S. Bartell
Sharon T. Shaheen
Steve W. Chriss
WRA
Caitlin Evans
Clare Valentine
Cydney Beadles
kelly@thegouldlawfirm.com;
peter@thegouldlawfirm.com;
office@thegouldlawfirm.com;
ctcolumbia@aol.com;
clane@synapse-energy.com;
gelliot@nmag.gov;
JSmith@synapse-energy.com;
Moropeza@nmag.gov;
JLafayette@nmag.gov;
JBarrett@nmag.gov;
Robert.Lundin@prc.nm.gov;
Alejandro.Martinez@prc.nm.gov;
arthur.o'donnell@prc.nm.gov;
bradford.borman@prc.nm.gov;
ed.rilkoff@prc.nm.gov;
elisha.leyba-tercero@prc.nm.gov;
jack.sidler@prc.nm.gov;
Jonah.Mauldin@prc.nm.gov;
Marc.tupler@prc.nm.gov;
bearstar@fastmail.fm;
tkraftesq@gmail.com;
brian.buffington@pnm.com;
carey.salaz@pnm.com;
dterwilliger@wbklaw.com;
John.verheul@pnmresources.com;
Henry.Monroy@pnmresources.com
rgifford@wbklaw.com;
ralvidrez@mstlaw.com;
stacey.goodwin@pnmresources.com;
Vecinosunited2@gmail.com;
Andrew.Teague@walmart.com;
rbartell@montand.com;
sshaheen@montand.com;
Stephen.Chriss@walmart.com;
caitlin.evans@westernresources.org;
clare.valentine@westernresources.org;
cydney.beadles@westernresources.org;