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

Photo by Anni Hanna New Energy Economy and Navajo Elder Daniel Tso today jointly filed a sweeping motion with the Water Quality Control...

New Mexico now has its own WATRgate. Newly disclosed emails reveal what advocates have long suspected: the Governor’s Office is actively...

Last week New Energy Economy filed a motion requesting that the Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC) require the “Water Access...

Yesterday, in response to Bernhard Capital Partner's previously reported refusal to respond to interrogatories related to violations and...

Last week, after requesting an extension, Bernhard Capital Partners (BCP), the private equity firm trying to take over NM Gas Company,...

New Energy Economy (NEE) announced Monday that it will intervene in the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission’s (PRC) review of...

Yesterday, New Energy Economy, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Navajo leaders Daniel Tso and Mario Atencio filed a motion ...

As we reported briefly last week, a coalition of fracking waste reuse proponents hypocritically calling themselves the Water Access...