Security Deposits
When you are applying for service, a deposit will not be required if you meet one of the following conditions:
- You can provide an adequate credit reference from a utility where you had prior utility service.
- You can demonstrate a satisfactory credit rating by appropriate means as listed in Rule 17.5.410.17 of the New Mexico Administrative Code issued by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.
If El Paso Electric (EPE) requires you to pay a deposit, the deposit shall not exceed an amount equivalent to one sixth (two months) of the estimated annual billing from previous documented history of the service location. All deposits earn interest at an annual rate as established by state law. Please contact EPE for the annual rate.
EPE is permitted to impose a new deposit on an existing account if there is no deposit on the account and:
- There have been three (3) or more occasions during which the bill became delinquent during the prior twelve (12) month period; or
- Service was disconnected for nonpayment.
If your service has been disconnected for nonpayment and there is no deposit on your account, EPE may require you to pay a deposit before reconnection of service. After one (1) year from the date you paid the deposit, if there have been no more than two (2) delinquent bills and service has not been disconnected for nonpayment, EPE will refund the deposit and interest to you. Otherwise, EPE will hold the deposit and continue accumulating interest on the deposit amount.
If a residential customer or prospective residential customer can demonstrate that the residential customer does not have adequate financial resources to pay the security deposit and the residential customer meets the qualifications of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program ("LIHEAP"), or is subject to other special circumstances, EPE shall give special consideration to such a residential customer in determining whether, or in what amount a security deposit will be charged. In making such determination, EPE shall accept documentation from the administering authority that such residential or prospective residential customer meets the qualifications of LIHEAP.