We want to be able to take a little bit of pressure off, take a little bit of stress away from customers — PNM spokesman Eric Chavez
PNM customers may not necessarily have to fork up extra money just to stay cool this summer.
Instead, PNM has a budget billing program meant to help prevent surprise marked-up prices in times where air conditioner use goes up.
“A lot of people see increases on their bill in the summer, and that’s just because people use more energy throughout the summer. You have your air conditioner running all day because it’s hot. A lot of people are working from home right now, so they’re home all day,” PNM spokesman Eric Chavez said.
While customers are still responsible in paying for energy consumption, this program allows them to pay a set amount every month. PNM evaluates those amounts every February and August, and those amounts would be adjusted based on energy costs and usage.
Customers who sign up for the program will know ahead of time what the amount for each monthly payment will be.
“There’s a little bit of an evaluation period so that we can get a good understanding of what your bill is throughout certain months. Then, it spreads that out throughout the whole year, and you get one cost,” Chavez said.
That means customers won’t have to potentially plan for a higher bill by month’s end after cranking up their A/C unit on a sweltering day earlier in the month, Chavez said.
“We want to be able to take a little bit of pressure off, take a little bit of stress away from customers,” he said.
PNM’s tips on air conditioning include keeping doors and windows closed during use to help keep that cooler air in, using a ceiling fan to help circulate that cooler breeze, as well as drawing blinds to help keep sun rays out during the hottest time of day.
Additional tips can be found online at PNM.com/tips.
“I think it’s more important than ever to allow opportunities for customers to save because everything else is getting so high,” Chavez said.
