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

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

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

Last night more than 400 New Mexicans showed up at the PRC public comment hearing about the Blackstone buyout of PNM and spoke loud and clear: Blackstone is not wanted in New Mexico. More than 300 people came in person and signed up, but only about 70 got a chance to speak! Well over 100 were waiting online on zoom and not one of them got the chance. People were lined up outside in the hallway because the room could not contain everyone. People listened from the parking lot.

An application filed by Wild Earth Guardians and supported by New Energy Economy in 2023 sought to prohibit the use of PFAS compounds in  all downhole oil and gas operations  and require community notification of chemical disclosures.  The final rule adopted by the OCC, however, improperly worded the prohibition on PFAS to apply only to well completion and recompletions, leaving out operations like oil and gas well drilling, treatment and maintenance, and enhanced oil recover

Yesterday New Energy Economy filed a Motion urging the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (NMPRC) to reopen the record in the pending case involving the proposed acquisition of New Mexico Gas Company by affiliates of Bernhard Capital Partners (BCP), citing newly emerged evidence of catastrophic billing failures at Delta Utilities, a gas utility acquired by BCP just six months ago. Customers of Delta Utilities in Louisiana have reported shocking increases in gas bills—ra

As we close out this milestone year—our 20th anniversary—we are reflecting on our mission, what we have accomplished, what remains ahead, and the extraordinary moment we are living through. The climate crisis is accelerating, and the fossil fuel industry is responding not with restraint, but with unprecedented expansion - doubling down on oil, gas, a suite of dangerous “advanced energy” schemes that threaten our water, health, and democratic rights, and threats of war in Vene

Today the whole point of our Motion for Interlocutory Appeal was ignored when PRC Commissioners focused exclusively on whether the violations we managed to uncover through independent research were damning or relevant to their decision about Bernhard Capital Partners, and not on the much more important question: What do we NOT KNOW ABOUT because the Hearing Examiner's failed to grant our Motion to Compel and require Bernhard Capital Partners to respond to our discovery questi

With everything going on, we have been remiss in reporting on an ongoing dispute with the Oil Conservation Commission over the final wording of the PFAS prohibition in Oil and Gas operations that was litigated in November of 2024. The application filed by Wild Earth Guardians and supported by New Energy Economy in 2023 sought to prohibit the use of PFAS compounds in all downhole oil and gas operations and require community notification of chemical disclosures. The final rule

Yesterday we filed our Brief in Chief in the Bernhard Capital Partners buyout case, delivering our final legal arguments recommending against the deal, and laying out the requirements the PRC should impose should they decide to do so. But today the public showed up to make their own arguments, and they did not disappoint! The people called out the dangers of private equity, the impact of likely rate increases on seniors and the working poor, and the absurdity of allowing th

A friend just shared with us this letter authored on December 4th by Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal questioning Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman about his intentions in buying PNM. The letter states that "private equity firms appear to be taking advantage of utilities’ regulated-monopoly status to rake in excess profits," and points out that the company itself has publicly announced that it is investing at scale to position itself as “the

Yesterday we filed an  Interlocutory Appeal directly to the PRC after the Hearing Examiners in the Bernhard Capital Partners case failed to respond to our Emergency Motion seeking to remedy their defective rulings during the hearing in November and the PRC has already issued an order asking other parties to respond. This interlocutory appeal matters because the Hearing Examiners’ evidentiary rulings undermine the very foundation of the Commission’s constitutional and statuto

On Friday New Energy Economy took the extraordinary step of filing an Emergency Motion for Leave to Seek Interlocutory Appeal in the Bernhard Capital Partners case. Our Motion was filed after Hearing Examiners in the case ruled repeatedly and defectively to refuse to allow discovery and evidence of BCP’s history and operations at BCP-owned companies into the record, to require one of our expert witnesses to testify as a lay person despite being a lawyer for 15 years and spe

The outcome was not at all certain as water advocates and public health protectors filed into the WQCC meeting yesterday, where Commissioners would decide the outcome of three formal motions to disqualify Commissioners and vacate a prior decision to allow a hearing on a WATR Alliance fracking waste discharge petition. Despite an extraordinary scene in which the people defied the Chair's surprise announcement that public comment on the fracking waste issue would not be heard ,

We are thrilled to report that the NM Supreme Court has agreed  to hear the landmark  lawsuit  filed in 2023 by a coalition of Indigenous, frontline, youth and environmental organizations and community members over the state’s failure to protect public health and the environment from the harms of oil and gas pollution, as required by the state constitution. The lawsuit,  Atencio v. State of New Mexico,  is the first to challenge the state for violating the pollution control c

First, reporting back from the BCP buyout of New Mexico Gas Company hearing, we wanted to share this important point made by PRC Commissioner Aguilera to BCP Executive Jeffrey Baudier: a gas utility is not like a Burger King. It has captive customers that do not have a choice about where they can purchase their gas, and therefore those ratepayers have more at stake than burger joint customers. That is why the comparative difference between the $200M acquisition premium being

Today the Bernhard Capital Partner (BCP) acquisition hearing begins. You can listen in on the proceedings via Youtube here at 9:00AM, starting with the cross examination of Jeffrey Baudier, the erstwhile CEO of the new venture, famed for his leadership at the failed Petra Nova carbon capture plant that resulted in very little carbon captured and the loss of more than 300 million in public funds. He will be crossed first by Peter Gould representing NM AREA, and then Mariel wi

What happens when an inexperienced and profit driven gas company cuts costs and fails to properly maintain its facilities and operations? On Tuesday dozens of New Mexicans showed up to the PRC's public comment hearing about Bernhard Capital Partner's bid to buy New Mexico Gas Company and asked that very important question. How can a private equity company focused exclusively on profit, and with just three months experience running a gas utility, be trusted to provide safe an

On October 20th the Oil Conservation Commission will begin a hearing on new regulations in Case No. 24683  brought by Western Environmental Law Center and allies to try to prevent the abandonment of oil and gas wells in New Mexico. New Energy Economy has intervened to support the applicants and advocate for even stronger regulations necessary to address the impending orphan well crisis that could cost New Mexico billions. The Impending Orphan Well Crisis Could End up Costing

Headquartered in New York, Blackstone was founded by Peter Peterson and CEO Stephen Schwarzman, an ally and lifelong friend of Trump who served as chairman of Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum. Mr. Schwarzman is worth more than $44 billion, ranking No. 31 on Forbes list of the world’s wealthiest people. Blackstone has applied to buy PNM - the electricity provider for more than 65% of New Mexican families and small businesses. To sweeten the deal, Blackstone has offered PNM’s