State Commissions
Cynthia Hall is Vice 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 you to the Commission?
Vice Chair Cynthia Hall: I had been a legal advisor to the Commission, and I understood that we can reduce climate change through utility regulation. But it feels like I have to tap every bit of my career experience to accomplish this as Commissioner.
In college and graduate school, I studied biology and physiology, and then had a brief but focused career as a research scientist, working on environmental toxicology in academic, non-profit, and corporate settings. I didn't think about it at the time, but these jobs laid the foundation for my lifelong interest in environmental protection that helps inform my decision making as a Commissioner.