Commissioner - District 1
New Mexico Public Regulation Commission
1120 Paseo De Peralta
Santa Fe
NMUSA
87504
Biographical Sketch: Prior to being elected to the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, Jason Marks had an extensive career in healthcare finance and rate setting. After serving as Hospital Programs Manager for Oregon Medicaid, he joined Myers and Stauffer LC, a mid-sized accounting firm, where he became a Principal and led a national consulting practice extending to 20 states and the federal government.
Jason Marks was first elected to the PRC by the voters in his Albuquerque-area district in November 2004. He was reelected by a large margin in 2008. Marks served as PRC Vice-Chair for 2005 through 2007, and as Commission Chair for 2008.
Commissioner Marks was the drafter and sponsor for Qwest’s AFOR II regulatory order, which includes a three year rate freeze and elimination of “trouble isolation charges.” He was a strong advocate for ensuring that Qwest was held accountable for its AFOR I investment shortfall, and insisted that customer credits (ultimately totaling over $30 per line) were part of the resolution of the AFOR I enforcement case. In 2008, Marks voted against the PNM emergency fuel adjustment clause because he believed it was inappropriate to transfer 100% of fuel and purchased power risk from the company to its customers. Although the fuel clause was approved by a Commission majority, Marks was successful in offering amendments to the surcharge that reduced the customer impact by over $10 million. During the 2009 Legislative Session. Marks successfully fought to bring competition to title insurance rates and against Qwest’s deregulation bill.
Commissioner Marks believes that the PRC has an important role to play in the transition from fossil-fuel dependency to energy supplies that are environmentally and financially sustainable. In 2007, he sponsored and passed renewable energy rules at the Commission that create diversity targets for solar energy and distributed generation. In 2006, he brought an order to the Commission that requires utilities to use standardized prices for carbon dioxide emissions in their long range resource planning, and he joined with Commissioner Lujan in initiating a rulemaking that resulted in the highest net metering limit in the nation, and in sponsoring the PRC’s entry into the Western PUC Commissioner’s Joint Action Framework to Address Climate Change.
Commissioner Marks has a Bachelors degree from Reed College and a law degree from the University of New Mexico. He is a member of the New Mexico legal bar and serves on the governing board for the Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System, the Steering Committee for the Western Renewable Energy Zones Project, and the Advisory Committee for New Mexico State University’s Center for Public Utilities.