New Mexico

NMStrong

Days notice (electric)

Days notice (gas)

Yes

Winter moratorium

Yes

Medical exemption

What to do today

If you have a shutoff notice, the date on it is the one that matters. These steps work best in this order.

Call your utility before the date on your notice
Ask for a payment plan or a deferred payment arrangement. Most states require your utility to offer one, and asking before the date is what keeps your service on. The number is on your bill.
Apply for energy assistance
LIHEAP helps with utility bills and does not have to be paid back. Call the national referral line on 1-866-674-6327 weekdays 9am to 7pm Eastern, or visit energyhelp.us.
Dial 211 for local help
211 is free and connects you to local funds for utilities, rent and food. Some local agencies can pay a utility directly to stop a shutoff.
Ask about medical certification
New Mexico recognises medical protections. If anyone in your home has a serious illness or relies on powered medical equipment, a note from a doctor can delay a shutoff. Ask your utility for the form today, because it usually has to be back within days.
Contact the regulator if your utility will not work with you
prc.nm.gov handles complaints against regulated utilities in New Mexico. Filing one can pause a disconnection while it is looked at.

Read the full guide: what to do when you get a shutoff notice

Electric Gas Water Medical Low Income Regulator

Electric shutoff rules

Regulatory notice required15 days

Reconnection feeVaries by utility

Winter moratorium: November 15–March 15 (Heating Season Shut-Off Protection): utilities cannot disconnect residential customers who meet LIHEAP qualifications AND either have no past-due charges as of November 15, OR are on an installment/settlement agreement and remain current on payments. Utilities must receive PRC approval for exceptions.

Major utilities

Public Service Co…El Paso Elec Xcel Energy New M…

Public Service Company of New Mexico

Central and northern New Mexico, including Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, and the Santa Fe area

15-day notice

Discontinuance for nonpayment of a delinquent account falls under 17.5.410.31(B)(1), which requires the 15-day written notice specified in 17.5.410.33(A), followed by a final reminder contact at least 2 days before the actual disconnection date (17.5.410.33(B)). (A separate 3-day notice under 17.5.410.31(C) applies only to different grounds - refused access, rule violations, fraudulent certifications - not ordinary nonpayment.) Reconnection charges may not exceed actual cost and no less than the tariff minimum (17.5.410.14(D))

PNM is an electric utility subject to NMPRC jurisdiction, so it is bound by 17.5.410 NMAC

no fixed statewide dollar figure exists and PNM's specific tariff was not fetched in this pass

Assistance programs

LIHEAP (low-income home energy assistance program), defined at 17.5.410.7(L) as administered by the NM Human Services Department or a tribal/pueblo entity under NMSA 1978 Section 27-6-18.1. The rule ties LIHEAP certification to winter moratorium protection (17.5.410.30) and to relief from cash deposits (17.5.410.16(B)) and installment-agreement terms (17.5.410.40(B)).

"N.M. Admin. Code 17.5.410.31, .33, .14, .7(L) (New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, Rules for Discontinuance of Utility Service)." srca.nm.gov. Retrieved 22 Sep 2026.

El Paso Electric

Southern New Mexico (Las Cruces, Alamogordo, Silver City area)

15-day notice

Show 4 shutoff rules

El Paso Electric's New Mexico service is subject to the same statewide NMPRC rule, 17.5.410 NMAC, that governs all electric, gas, and rural electric cooperative utilities under NMPRC jurisdiction

Nonpayment disconnection requires the 15-day notice under 17.5.410.33(A) (per the cross-reference in 17.5.410.31(B)(1)), plus a final contact at least 2 days before shutoff (17.5.410.33(B))

EPE's own New Mexico tariff pages returned 404 when checked directly, so the reconnection fee is left null rather than guessed

17.5.410.14(D) caps it at actual cost with a tariff-set minimum, not a statewide figure

Assistance programs

LIHEAP, defined and referenced throughout 17.5.410 NMAC (see 17.5.410.7(L), .16(B), .30, .40(B)); administered by NM HSD or a tribal/pueblo entity.

"N.M. Admin. Code 17.5.410.31, .33, .14, .7(L)." srca.nm.gov. Retrieved 22 Sep 2026.

Xcel Energy New Mexico

Southeastern New Mexico, including Roswell, Clovis, Hobbs, Carlsbad, and Portales

15-day notice

Show 7 shutoff rules

Corrected service area: this entity (Southwestern Public Service Company, an Xcel Energy subsidiary) serves southeastern New Mexico -- Roswell, Clovis, Hobbs, Carlsbad, Portales

Las Vegas, NM is PNM territory, not SPS's

the prior draft's 'eastern New Mexico (Las Vegas, Clayton area)' description was wrong

This entity operates in NM as Southwestern Public Service Company (SPS), a Xcel Energy subsidiary and NMPRC-jurisdictional electric utility, so it is bound by 17.5.410 NMAC like other NM electric utilities

Nonpayment disconnection requires 15 days' written notice (17.5.410.31(B)(1) and .33(A)) plus a final reminder at least 2 days before shutoff (17.5.410.33(B))

Reconnection charges are tariff-specific and capped at actual cost under 17.5.410.14(D)

no statewide figure exists and SPS's own tariff was not fetched in this pass

Assistance programs

LIHEAP, defined and referenced throughout 17.5.410 NMAC (17.5.410.7(L), .16(B), .30, .40(B)); administered by NM HSD or a tribal/pueblo entity.

"N.M. Admin. Code 17.5.410.31, .33, .14, .7(L)." srca.nm.gov. Retrieved 22 Sep 2026.

Gas shutoff rules

Regulatory notice required15 days

Reconnection feeVaries by utility

Major utilities

New Mexico Gas Co Southwest Gas New…

New Mexico Gas Company

in August 2026, and the utility continues operating under the New Mexico Gas Company name

15-day notice

Show 5 shutoff rules

New Mexico Gas Company is an NMPRC-jurisdictional gas utility bound by 17.5.410 NMAC

Its August 2026 change of ownership (from Emera Inc. to Bernhard Capital Partners) left this rule, and the company's name, unaffected

Nonpayment disconnection requires 15 days' written notice per 17.5.410.31(B)(1) and .33(A), followed by a final reminder at least 2 days before shutoff (17.5.410.33(B))

Reconnection charges are capped at actual cost with a tariff-set minimum under 17.5.410.14(D)

no fixed statewide dollar figure exists and NMGC's specific tariff was not fetched in this pass

Assistance programs

LIHEAP, defined and referenced throughout 17.5.410 NMAC (17.5.410.7(L), .16(B), .30, .40(B)); administered by NM HSD or a tribal/pueblo entity.

"N.M. Admin. Code 17.5.410.31, .33, .14, .7(L)." srca.nm.gov. Retrieved 22 Sep 2026.

Southwest Gas New Mexico

Limited areas of southern New Mexico

15-day notice

Show 4 shutoff rules

Southwest Gas's New Mexico territory is NMPRC-jurisdictional and bound by 17.5.410 NMAC

Nonpayment disconnection requires 15 days' written notice (17.5.410.31(B)(1), .33(A)) plus a final reminder at least 2 days before shutoff (17.5.410.33(B))

Reconnection charges are tariff-set and capped at actual cost under 17.5.410.14(D)

Southwest Gas's specific NM tariff was not fetched in this pass, so no dollar figure is recorded

Assistance programs

LIHEAP, defined and referenced throughout 17.5.410 NMAC (17.5.410.7(L), .16(B), .30, .40(B)); administered by NM HSD or a tribal/pueblo entity.

"N.M. Admin. Code 17.5.410.31, .33, .14, .7(L)." srca.nm.gov. Retrieved 22 Sep 2026.

Water shutoff rules

Regulatory notice requiredNot regulated / varies

Major utilities

Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority

Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, and surrounding areas

10-day notice

Show 11 shutoff rules

Corrected: ABCWUA is statutorily NOT regulated by the NMPRC - NMSA 1978 Section 72-1-10 creates the Authority and expressly exempts it from NMPRC jurisdiction and the Public Utility Act (confirmed in Albuquerque Bernalillo Cty

Water Util

Auth. v

NMPRC, NM Supreme Ct

2010), so 17.5.410 NMAC (water is excluded from its scope anyway) and NMPRC generally do not apply

The Authority's own Water and Sewer Rate Ordinance Section 1-1-15 governs instead: an account becomes eligible for disconnection once unpaid for 30 days from the bill due date (Sec

1-1-15(A)), and the Authority must send written notice at least 10 calendar days before actually terminating service, with a right to an administrative hearing (Sec

1-1-15(B)-(C)

$50 nonrefundable hearing fee under Sec

1-1-15(F))

Separately, per abcwua.org's own online-services page (not the ordinance itself), same-day restoration after a nonpayment shutoff requires the payment and turn-on request to be submitted before 2:00pm MT, or restoration happens the next business day

Assistance programs

Per ABCWUA's own site (abcwua.org/customer-service-help-for-low-income-customers/): Low Income Credit (LIC) program - up to $33.05/month bill credit for homeowners (annual renewal required); and Water Assistance Fund (WAF) Grants - one-time grant up to $200 for homeowners or tenants who have received a turn-off notice for a past-due balance. Both are administered by The Storehouse and Rio Grande Food Project, not by ABCWUA directly.

"ABCWUA Water and Sewer Rate Ordinance Sec. 1-1-15 (Discontinuance of Service; Hearing); abcwua.org Help for Low Income Customers page and Online Services page (same-day restoration deadline)." abcwua.org. Retrieved 22 Sep 2026.

Medical & vulnerable household exemptions

Medical certification postpones disconnection. PRC rules protect households where loss of service would create a medical emergency.

Low-income protections

LIHEAP administered by New Mexico HSD. PNM Heating Season Shut-Off Protection explicitly tied to LIHEAP qualification. New Mexico has strong income-based protections integrated into the moratorium framework.

Your state regulator

File a complaint or get help from New Mexico's utility regulator

Data last verified: 2026-09-22. Rules may change — verify with your state regulator.