In 2022, the largest, most destructive fire in New Mexico history blazed across the northern part of the state, burning more than 340,000 acres and destroying more than 900 homes and businesses—many served by electric cooperatives.

The ferocious fire swept from one end of Mora-San Miguel Electric Cooperative’s territory to the other, consuming 2,000 power poles and frying underground transformers.

Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., helped lead efforts to get federal assistance for victims of the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon fire, which began as a prescribed burn in the Santa Fe National Forest that grew out of control after being stoked by strong winds.

Heinrich and Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., pushed through legislation in late 2022 to provide monetary compensation for fire victims who suffered personal injury, loss of property, business loss or financial loss.

“Sen. Heinrich was crucial in passing the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act, which secured $4 billion for recovery efforts,” says Charise Swanson, CEO of the New Mexico Rural Electric Cooperatives.

“He has continued to illustrate his commitment to supporting our communities as they rebuild. We are grateful for his involvement and ongoing support.”

Last year, the Democratic senator used his position as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture to fend off House efforts to slash $1 billion from a $9.7 billion clean energy program designed exclusively for electric co-ops.

The program, included in the Inflation Reduction Act after strong lobbying by NRECA, is administered by the Department of Agriculture and provides grants and loans to electric co-ops to buy or build new clean energy systems. Projects funded under the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program include renewable energy, carbon capture, battery energy storage systems, nuclear power and improvements to generation and transmission efficiency.

“In the Senate, under Sen. Heinrich’s chairmanship, the New ERA program was kept whole,” Swanson said.

“This program is so important to our rural communities to assist our nonprofit cooperatives with funding for clean energy initiatives. Sen. Heinrich recognizes that our co-ops are the backbone of rural America, and we need to have sufficient funding to continue to lower energy costs for our members.”

In addition to his seat on the Appropriations Committee, Henrich serves on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where he has been a passionate advocate for investing in renewable energy and combating climate change. The 53-year-old senator is in line to become the ranking member of the committee when the new Congress convenes in January.

“To deliver all of the clean energy we will produce in New Mexico to market, we need to build more long-distance, high-voltage transmission lines,” the senator says on his website. “Securing our energy future also depends on electrifying large swaths of the economy.”

Heinrich is the co-founder and co-chairman of Congress’s Electrification Caucus, a group of about 50 lawmakers “who recognize the importance of electrification in growing our economy, creating good-paying jobs, reducing our pollution, creating healthier indoor environments, and saving American families money.”

The focus of the caucus includes electric vehicle charging infrastructure, workforce development, consumer rebates, and incentives to encourage the electrification of industrial processes and facilities.

“Electrifying our homes and businesses is one of the surest climate actions that we can take right now,” Heinrich says. “We can create millions of new jobs, reduce our energy bills, and improve air quality and public health.”

The senator’s support for electric co-ops is part of that larger goal.

“Rural electric co-ops provide essential services to communities in New Mexico and across our country,” Heinrich said. “They will also play a critical role in our clean energy transition.”

“Through my work in the Senate, I have been proud to secure the resources to help the Mora-San Miguel Electric Cooperative rebuild after their infrastructure was destroyed by the largest fire in our state’s history.”

“I’m also working to steer strong investments to our rural electric co-ops through the Inflation Reduction Act’s new Empowering Rural America Program to help them dramatically expand clean power generation and delivery to our rural communities,” the senator said. “Together, we are building a cleaner, healthier, more resilient, and more affordable energy future.” 

Heinrich’s interest in energy issues began long before he entered politics. He earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Missouri and began his career in Albuquerque as a contractor working on directed energy technology at the former Phillips Laboratories.