January 16 marked the beginning of the second session of the 56th Legislature in Santa Fe. Over the last two weeks, we have paid. close attention to the pre-filed bills that could be detrimental to our New Mexico electric cooperatives.
Communicating will be very important during the 2024 legislative session. We love our enchantment magazine as a tool to provide you with a variety of information, and we also want to make sure you have real-time communication.
During a legislative session, we cannot always wait for the next issue of the enchantment, so we encourage you to follow our NMREC Facebook, Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter, social media platforms to get the latest news during this 30-day lawmaking session.
I also encourage you to contact your local electric cooperative to make sure they have your correct contact information on your account. This is important to your cooperative and NMREC. It lets you receive important information about legislation that could affect you and your cooperative.
Your phone number and email address are also vital during emergencies, as this information can be used by your cooperative to identify and verify a power outage at your location.
Your contact information can also be used by NMREC to notify you of important legislation through Voices of Cooperative Power, a program implemented by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association which advocates for all of our cooperatives across the nation.
Voices for Cooperative Power works to educate and influence elected officials as they make important federal and state policy decisions that impact electric cooperatives and their members.
If a potential bill, joint resolution or resolution is a threat to our cooperatives—especially to our reliability and affordability— NMREC will launch a VCP grassroots campaign to have our cooperative members call or email their representatives and senators to demand they protect the ability of our cooperatives to deliver safe, affordable and reliable electricity to our rural communities in New Mexico.
Enchantment Magazine
We had great feedback from our readers regarding the changes implemented in our January issue. This edition introduces a new feature, Adventure Awaits, where we take you to Abiquiu, New Mexico. Abiquiu was once the home of Georgia O’Keeffe, the “mother of American modernism.”
Another change premiering this month is Around New Mexico, a monthly calendar of events created by our members who submit event information from regions across the state. Check out page 27 of this issue, and let us know if there is an event you would like to see added to the calendar.
In March, we will introduce “Millennial Viewpoint” to provide our readers with a different viewpoint through the eyes of a millennial. Another feature premiering in March is the “Electric Vehicle Experience,” which will give an uncensored look into life with an electric vehicle. This guest article is written by Mark Faulkenberry, vice president of marketing and member relations at Western Farmers Electric Cooperative, who provide power to four of our electric cooperatives. We look forward to his article and electric-powered adventures next month.