State Commissions
Joseph Maestas is Chair of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.
The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission is busy, tasked by the state legislature with implementation of the Energy Transition Act, calling for a phased transition to clean energy with goals of fifty percent renewables by 2030, eighty percent by 2040, and net zero for IOUs by 2045 and for co-ops by 2050. The five-member elected Commission will change to a three-member appointed one at the end of 2022. The Commissioners said they want to leave it all better. Here, they tell you in their words about the coming changes and the status and future of the energy and utilities industry in the beautiful State of New Mexico.
PUF's Lori Burkhart: How did your career lead to the Commission?
Chair Joseph Maestas: I have a career of thirty plus years in federal civil service. I spent most of my time in the U.S. Department of Transportation and Department of Interior. The first twenty-three years of my career was spent implementing the Federal Aid Highway Act.
At the federal level, at that time, we engaged in rulemaking. My job essentially was to ensure that the State Department of Transportation and contractors on federally funded transportation projects complied with all applicable federal laws, not just the Federal Aid Highway Act.