ALBUQUERQUE — The New Mexico Gas Company has received permission to change customer rates this fall. The increase in rates, which takes effect Oct. 1, was unanimously approved Thursday by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.
The average monthly residential bill will increase 7.1%. The residential customer fixed monthly access fee will remain unchanged at $12.40. For a residential customer who participates in our budget billing program and uses an average of 53 therms of gas per month, this would mean an increase of about $4.20 per month. Customers can check their usage and determine estimated bill impacts by going to nmgco.com/en/new_rates.
The company submitted its original rate request in September 2023. All the parties to the regulatory process reached an uncontested settlement agreement in March 2024, which provided for a revenue increase of $30 million, compared to the company’s original request of about $49 million. The authorized return on equity and capital structure used to help set rates were unchanged from the company’s previous rate increase.
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“We appreciate the work by all parties to engage in positive discussions and reach a resolution that ensures the company can continue to safely provide reliable natural gas service to our customers,” said NMGC President Ryan Shell.
The new rates will help pay for increasing costs the company is experiencing from expanding federal and state regulatory requirements throughout the industry, while also supporting improvements to gas delivery infrastructure and replacement of the company’s customer billing and information system.
New Mexico Gas Company offers payment assistance programs for customers, a budget billing program and energy efficiency programs.
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LAS CRUCES, N.M. — An ‘imposter nurse’ in Las Cruces is facing 34 charges after nearly causing the death of a patient and illegally giving medications to patients under 18 years old.
A Doña Ana County grand jury indicted Margarita Gonzalez. She is accused of assuming the identities of nurses in Texas to get hired at four nursing facilities in Las Cruces:
Village at Northrise
Las Cruces Wellness and Rehabilitation
Peak Behavioral Health
Matrix Home Care
The New Mexico Department of Justice’s Medicaid Fraud and Elder Abuse Bureau investigated and discovered instances where Gonzalez illegally gave injections and dispensed prescriptions, including narcotics to eight inpatient residents under 18 years old.
An investigation also found Gonzalez was also about to allegedly give “an incorrect insulin dose” to a patient that they claim could’ve killed the patient if another nurse hadn’t caught the error.
Several facilities fired Gonzalez over patient safety concerns and an observed lack of knowledge.
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“Impersonating a healthcare provider is a reckless and selfish crime that subjects those most vulnerable to risk of serious injury or death,” Attorney General Raúl Torrez said. “I will not tolerate those who risk the safety of patients or cause danger and unnecessary confusion within the healthcare system. These charges should keep anyone attempting to pose as a healthcare provider on notice: we will find you, and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law to protect New Mexicans.”
Gonzalez’s charges include identity theft, nursing without a license, abuse of a resident, distribution of controlled substances to a minor and fraud totaling over $25,000.
If convicted on all counts, Gonzalez could face up to 100 years in prison.
