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Blackstone Buyout
In 2025 Blackstone applied to the PRC for permission to buy PNM for upward of $11 billion. The largest private equity firm in the world, Blackstone's plan is to colonize New Mexico and extract our resources to power data centers for the AI empire. New Energy Economy is leading the legal fight against Blackstone and organizing our communities to demand protection from the extreme rate increases and environmental catastrophe guaranteed to result if approved. Case updates below.
Hearing Examiners Order at 5PM Yesterday: Blackstone Acquisition of PNM on HOLD until compliance with unwinding of illegal stock purchase determined.
Yesterday the PRC issued an order affirming the findings of the Hearing Examiners in the Blackstone/TXNM acquisition case: Blackstone and TXNM intentionally and knowingly violated NMSA § 62-6-12, completing a $400 million stock transaction without first obtaining the approval required by the Public Utility Act. Just before 5PM yesterday the Hearing Examiners issued an order granting a Joint Motion we filed in June asking that any hearing on the merits of the merger must be po
Jul 3
PRC Finds Blackstone and TXNM violated the law! Penalties ordered, and ratepayers to be held harmless
Today the PRC issued an order affirming the findings of the Hearing Examiners in the Blackstone/TXNM acquisition case: Blackstone and TXNM intentionally and knowingly violated NMSA § 62-6-12, completing a $400 million stock transaction without first obtaining the approval required by the Public Utility Act. The Commissioners further upheld the Hearing Examiners recommendation that maximum penalties will be levied against TXNM, Troy TopCo, and Troy ParentCo, $300,000 ($100,000
Jul 2
ABQ Journal Admits: We might have made a mistake. Now we must make the best of it.
On Thursday the PRC will make a momentous decision - do they concur with the Hearing Examiners (HE) who found that Blackstone and PNM broke the law when they deliberately chose not to get prior approval before consummating their $400M stock transaction, and critically, what impact will that have on Blackstone's plan to buy our electric utility. The HE politely suggested that Blackstone and PNM should resubmit their application. We have argued that because the HE found that th
Jun 30
Bombshell Abq Journal Report: Behind redactions, PRC examiners hide doubts about NM Gas Company Sale to private equity investors
On Sunday the Albuquerque Journal revealed that despite publicly endorsing Bernhard Capital Partners (BCP)'s buyout of NM Gas Company, Hearing Examiners (HE) had reservations about whether the deal would preserve PRC oversight authority but hid those concerns from public view. A version of the Hearing Examiners' order that enabled recipients to uncover redacted portions was mistakenly emailed to parties and posted online where it was discovered by reporter Justin Horwath. Thi
Jun 23
Hearing Examiners find Blackstone and TXNM violated NM law and illegal stock transaction is void.
New Energy Economy (NEE) applauds today's Recommended Decision in the Public Regulation Commission's Show Cause Proceeding, which found that Blackstone and TXNM Energy, parent of Public Service Company of New Mexico, (“PNM”), violated New Mexico law by completing a $400 million stock transaction without first obtaining the approval required by the Public Utility Act. The Hearing Examiners concluded that the transaction was undertaken for “the purposes of [Blackstone's] propos
Jun 8
A run on Blackstone?
Yesterday we filed exceptions calling out the deeply flawed Recommended Decision by the Hearing Examiners in the Bernhard Capital Partners acquisition of New Mexico Gas Company. Our filing raises again the core issue - Hearing Examiners disallowed any evidence about BCP's history and qualifications into the record and then concluded that there wasn't sufficient evidence that a BCP buyout would negatively impact NM Gas Customers. You think? The Hearing Examiners themselves don
Jun 4
Hearing Examiners ignore evidence of Delta Utility malfeasance and recommend private equity buyout of NM Gas Company
Today we filed our Brief in Chief in the Blackstone Show Cause hearing, making a simple argument because the law about illegal merger-related stock acquisitions is clear and the evidence is there in black and white. We conclude: This case does not present a sprawling or complicated inquiry. It turns on three straightforward questions that the Commission must answer in sequence. First, is the Stock Purchase Agreement (PIPE) void and of no effect under NMSA 1978, § 62-6-12? Se
May 20
Hearing Examiner Orders Blackstone Briefing and Reply Briefs, Extending Decision into June
Yesterday the Hearing Examiners issued an order directing the parties in the Blackstone acquisition case to file their briefs in the Show Cause matter related to Blackstone's illegal stock purchases by May 20th and to file any reply briefs by June 1st. What does this mean? It means that a decision on the Blackstone acquisition is not happening anytime soon, and in the meantime, the people have time to make their case to the PRC that a private equity buyout of our largest util
May 5
On this May Day, lifting up workers instead of AI billionaires who are working hard to create a permanent underclass
Yesterday at the evidentiary hearing to determine whether Blackstone and PNM broke the law with their $400 million unsanctioned stock transaction, Blackstone and PNM continued to argue that the law does not actually say what the law says. There is no 10% control threshold to trigger the requirement to get PRC permission, even if at one time a draft of a bill once said that and a newspaper once reported about the draft! They also continued throwing up smoke to try to obscure t
May 1
Affordability and equity means centering people and the planet
Today in Columbia representatives from more than 50 nations, dozens of subnational governments and 2800 representatives from civil societies, a "coalition of the willing," continue their five day global conference to reinvigorate international efforts to reduce climate warming emissions outside of the Paris Accords COP process, which has largely been hijacked by fossil fuel interests and petrostates like the United States and Saudi Arabia. The group has formed a panel of scie
Apr 28
We filed our testimony calling for Blackstone acquisition to be dismissed with prejudice
On March 11th Hearing Examiners at the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) granted a motion requiring the Joint Applicants in PRC Case No. 25-00060-UT - PNM, TXNM Energy, and Blackstone’s Troy Parentco - to show cause why a $400 million Financing Transaction made in connection to the proposed merger without PRC approval was not unlawful under New Mexico law. That ruling followed a motion filed by Prosperity Works and supported by multiple intervenors, including New
Apr 21
Extractive industries are deceptive, voracious and relentless. We must be vigilant and persistent. This is our watch.
This week we learned about a company looking to restart exploration for uranium mining near Canjilon, a project that could poison the entire Chama watershed, we scrambled to participate in the ludicrous seven day public comment period on the Trump administration's bid to re-open fossil fuel extraction near Chaco Canyon, and saw there was a notice that federal agencies are reversing efforts to ban mining in the Upper Pecos, potentially opening up nearly 165,000 acres for miner
Apr 10
We have some big updates on Blackstone, Project Jupiter, and Groundhog Day at the WQCC
The Hearing Examiners have agreed with intervenors that Blackstone's acquisition of $400 million PNM shares without PRC permission warrants its own hearing, which has been set to begin on April 30th. Most importantly, the Hearing Examiners have vacated the prior hearing schedule because they agreed with intervenors that the acquisition cannot move forward until an investigative hearing concludes and a determination is made as to whether Blackstone and PNM violated the law wit
Mar 25
A report back from our conversation with Karen Hao
Thank you to all those who joined our conversation with Karen Hao about the Empire of AI and how Blackstone's ambition - to use New Mexico land, water, utility customers and energy resources to cash in on the artificial intelligence gold rush - could impact our communities and environment. If there is one thing we took away from Karen's deep knowledge and important insights, it is that the apocalyptic vision of these Artificial Intelligence zealots is not inevitable. Despite
Mar 17
Hearing Examiners Order Blackstone and PNM to Explain Potentially Illegal Stock Transaction
Santa Fe, NM (March 11, 2026) — In a major development in the proposed takeover of Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM), Hearing Examiners at the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) have granted a motion requiring the Joint Applicants - PNM, TXNM Energy, and Blackstone’s Troy ParentCo - to show cause why a $400 million stock transaction was not unlawful under New Mexico law. The ruling comes after a motion filed by Prosperity Works and supported by multiple i
Mar 11
It is possible to feel many things at once - burning rage and a deep sorrow borne of love. Action is sanity.
In Tehran today people are breathing a toxic soup of oil and dangerous particulates. The sky is black, death rains down and there is no water. In the words of Mehnaz, quoted in The Guardian: “The Rey depot, you won’t believe, was still on fire and it’s insane because in the night it looked like day and in the day, it was so dark, it looked like a new moon night. So, so dark, just like our futures.” Aramco is warning of “catastrophic consequences” for the world’s economy if t
Mar 10
Today we argued that the unlawful stock purchase issue must be resolved before the Blackstone case can proceed
New Energy Economy (NEE) and the New Mexico Consumer Protection Alliance today filed a Reply in Support of the Motion to Show Cause filed on February 6, 2026 by Prosperity Works in Case No. 25-00060-UT before the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC), arguing that the proposed $11 billion Blackstone acquisition of TXNM Energy (parent of PNM) is built upon an unlawful stock transaction that violates New Mexico law. Replies were also filed by the NMDOJ and Prosperity Wo
Mar 4
Gross misconduct at the Legislature - but the People are rising up. Blackstone beware.
We started the legislative session with a reminder that WE GOT US. It is WE, THE PEOPLE that will create the change we want to see. Nowhere was that more apparent than the juxtaposition between the hundreds of people showing up for six hours to speak against Blackstone at the PRC on Tuesday with the utter failure of the leadership in the New Mexico House and Senate to protect the people against the predicted and already extremely apparent collapse of our ecosystem as a conseq
Feb 19
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: We filed a Response Motion to ask the PRC to Declare Blackstone’s Unlawful Purchase of TXNM Stock Void and Deny the Merger
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – New Energy Economy, joined by the NM Consumer Protection Alliance, today filed a formal Response in support of a Motion to Show Cause in Case No. 25-00060-UT before the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, arguing that the proposed merger between Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM), TXNM Energy, Inc., and Troy ParentCo LLC must be denied because it violates New Mexico law. Our filing followed a Notice of Joinder filed earlier today from
Feb 19
Motion seeks rule to show cause why Blackstone broke NM laws already
On Friday Prosperity Works filed a Motion for Rule to Show Cause asking why Blackstone, through its affiliate Troy TopCo LP, unlawfully acquired a significant ownership stake in TXNM Energy, PNM’s parent company, without the prior approval required under New Mexico law—raising serious concerns about the integrity of the proposed takeover of New Mexico’s largest electric utility. Three facts are now clear: 1. Blackstone purchased PNM stock as part of the merger—without requir
Feb 9
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