The Albuquerque Journal Editorial Opinion pages feature 5 types of opinion columns submitted for publication with a 600 word policy limitation: those by the paper’s Editorial Board, those by the paper’s Community Council, those by Syndicated Columnists, those by Local Columnists and those by Local Voices. According to Journal editors:
“Local Columnists are tasked with carrying a heavy load of responsibility to help readers scrutinize issues impacting them, their community and their country. It is the Journal’s goal to publish columnists from all walks of life and varying political viewpoints to give readers exposure to all sides of local issues.”
LOCAL COLUMN
Don Hancock has participated in New Mexico Public Regulation Commission proceedings for more than 25 years and serves as steering committee chairperson for the Coalition for Clean Affordable Energy.
On Sunday, September 6, the Albuquerque Journal published on its editorial opinion page C2 the below 600 word “Local Columnist” opinion column by Don Hancck:
OPINION: Where Is The Strong Utility Oversight New Mexicans Were Promised When It Comes To Blackstone’s Purchase Of PNM
New Mexicans are being asked to place enormous trust in the Public Regulation Commission.
New Mexico is facing the possibility of a major shift in utility ownership. The PRC has approved Bernhard Capital Partners’ purchase of New Mexico Gas Co., while Blackstone’s proposed acquisition of TXNM Energy, the parent company of Public Service Company of New Mexico, remains under review.
These two companies provide essential services, make long-term infrastructure decisions and collect their revenues from customers who have no choice about whether to pay their monthly utility bills.
That makes strong, independent regulation essential.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently made exactly that case. Writing about Blackstone’s proposed acquisition of PNM, she argued that New Mexicans can rely on the PRC to provide independent oversight, protect consumers and impose enforceable conditions when private investors seek control of our utilities.
We hope she’s right.
But the commission’s recent 2-1 vote to approve Bernhard Capital Partners’ $1.25 billion purchase of New Mexico Gas raises serious questions about what that oversight will look like in practice.
Commissioner Gabriel Aguilera cast the lone dissenting vote, concluding that the transaction was inconsistent with the public interest because its modest benefits were outweighed by its risks and uncertainties. The majority also rejected additional conditions recommended by intervenor experts and the PRC’s own staff, including measures addressing financial transparency, governance and severe weather protections.
That should concern every New Mexican who pays a utility bill.
The purpose of regulatory oversight isn’t simply to determine whether a deal can legally proceed, as commissioners Patrick O’Connell and Greg Nibert indicated when they announced their decision.
The commission should be asking whether customers will actually benefit, whether financial risks have been adequately addressed and whether protections are strong enough to ensure ratepayers aren’t left holding the bag years from now.
Those questions become even more important when private equity is involved.
Bernhard’s acquisition uses a multilayered ownership structure involving investment funds and intermediate companies. The company has not publicly disclosed the investors in those funds. The deal also includes hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.
That is precisely the kind of transaction that demands rigorous financial scrutiny and meaningful, enforceable protections for customers.
We know the PRC is capable of providing strong oversight.
Just weeks ago, the commission found that PNM and Blackstone violated New Mexico law by completing a $400 million stock transaction without required approval. Thanks to advocacy by Prosperity Works, it ordered the companies to reverse the transaction and demonstrate that ratepayers would not bear the cost. The governor herself pointed to that decision as evidence that this PRC “will use its teeth.”
New Mexicans should expect that same rigor when regulators evaluate whether a utility acquisition actually serves the public interest.
And this matters beyond either transaction.
If utilities move from publicly traded companies into increasingly complicated private ownership structures, transparency and accountability become more important, not less. New Mexicans deserve to know who owns essential infrastructure, how it is financed, what risks customers are being asked to assume and what enforceable benefits they receive in return.
The Blackstone-PNM acquisition is still before the commission. The governor has said the PRC must determine whether that deal serves the public interest and has emphasized the commission’s power to impose enforceable conditions to protect ratepayers.
She’s right.
Private equity investment does not eliminate the need for strong public oversight. It makes that oversight essential.
If strong regulation is New Mexico’s answer to the risks that come with private ownership of our utilities, then strong regulation cannot be optional.
The link to the Don Hancock guest column published in the Albuquerque Journal is here:
DINELLI ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY
The key terms of the Blackstone offer to purchase PNM are:
- PURCHASE PRICE: $61.25 per share in cash (all-cash).
- ENTERPRISE VALUE:$11.5 billion (including net debt, excluding securitization debt, and preferred stock).
- PREMIUM:23% above TXNM’s unaffected 30-day VWAP as of early March 2025.
- STRUCTURE: Troy Parent Co LLC (Blackstone Infrastructure affiliate) acquires TXNM; PNM stays headquartered in New Mexico with local management.
- INTERIM EQUITY: Blackstone bought $400 million of newly issued TXNM shares at $50/share in 2025. The PRC later ruled it illegal (no prior approval) and ordered a full reversal at shareholder expense, with penalties.
- TIMELINE: Originally H2 2026; extended to termination date May 31, 2027. Shareholder approval obtained August 2025.
- REGULATORY STATUS: Approved by PUCT, FERC, FCC, HSR. New Mexico PRC and NRC still outstanding. PRC process paused pending stock-sale compliance.
- COMMITMENTS: Keep corporate headquarters and local management in New Meico; honor unions; minimum 10-year hold; claimed $175 million customer/community benefits (including large rate credit); ring-fencing and continued PRC rate authority.
- TERMINATION FEES: Blackstone-side termination fee reduced from $350M to $175M in the July 2026 extension.
The sale of PNM electric utility to Blackstone was to be completed in 2026. However, the sale was delayed earlier in 2026 when opponents objected to Blackstone’s purchase of $400 million in stock of TXNM Energy, the parent company of PNM, without pre-approval from the New Mexico Public Regulatory Commission (PRC). The $400 million stock sale was publicly reported by both companies, but regulated utilities must receive Public Regulation Commission (PRC) consent for large stock purchases.
In July, the PRC voted 2 to 1 confirming a hearing examiners determination that the $400 million stock purchase was illegal and had to be reversed completely with no financial consequences to ratepayers. PNM has moved to do that although there is some question as to whether or not Blackstone received dividends while they held the shares which have not been reimbursed.
PRC ordered the companies to undo the stock sale transaction and allowed the parties to continue their application process for the sale instead dismissing the application outright as opponents had hoped. PNM said it had secured funding to reverse the problematic $400 million stock sale to the buyer without PRC regulatory approval.
On Friday, July 17, 2026 Blackstone said it had extended the acquisition timeline until May 31, 2027 “to allow for further time to obtain regulatory approvals.” The transaction has received approval from the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). New Mexico PRC approval remains the last major hurdle.
New Energy Economy, a Santa Fe-based group opposed to the deal, had hoped the improper stock sale would end the purchase attempt. New Energy Economy said this in a statement:
“We are pleased that the Commission adopted the Hearing Examiners’ findings that Blackstone and TXNM violated New Mexico law and that the unlawful $400 million stock transaction must be unwound at shareholder — not ratepayer — expense… However, the Commission should also have denied the merger application.”
Blackstone’s purchase of $400 million in stock from TXNM Energy, the parent company of PNM, without pre-approval from the New Mexico Public Regulatory Commission (PRC) should have gutted the acquisition. It is evidence of the type of bad faith conduct the state and the PRC can expect in the future once Blackstone takes over PNM and then has complete control over all of its assets. Corporate profits always Trump’s what is in the best interest of the public.
A DIRECT CHALLENGE TO CANDIDATES FOR GOVERNOR
Blackstone-style privatization raises legitimate concerns about transparency, value extraction and future regulation. What is important is what steps will the Public Regulation Commission exercise its authority of the utility once the sale is completed or will Blackstone be given free reign to do what it wants?
New Mexicans deserve clear answers from Deb Haaland and Gregg Hull before November 3, 2026 election for Governor. They both need to answer with a press release or formal position paper the following questions:
- Do you support or oppose the Blackstone acquisition of TXNM/PNM as currently structured?
- Will you actively explore and advocate for a New Mexico-based ownership alternative — a consortium of local investors and citizen shareholders backed by smart permanent-fund financing — so that the value created by New Mexico ratepayers stays in New Mexico?
- What specific actions will your administration take to ensure the PRC has the resources and political backing to protect ratepayers regardless of ownership?
Electricity is the backbone of New Mexico’s future. The next Governor will shape whether New Mexicans or Wall Street own that backbone. The time for clarity is now.
Links to related articles are here: