On Friday we mistakenly wrote that the final day to comment was January 6th. That day is today. July 6th. If you have not already done so, please join us in asking NMED to reject Project Jupiter's plan to pollute our air with another 10 million tons - 20 billion pounds - of climate destroying CO2 every year. A monstrous crime against humanity and ecology, solely for the profit of Sam Altman and Larry Ellison. If ever there was a time to Rage Against the Machine, today is that

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

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

On Tuesday the Santa Fe County Commission voted unanimously to adopt an 18 month Data Center Moratorium Ordinance to allow time for study and adoption of critical regulations to protect against data center harms in Santa Fe County. Hundreds of you emailed the Commissioners, and dozens showed up at the meeting to ask for critical amendments to the published draft. The result? A strong ordinance that will protect Santa Fe County residents and serve as a model for counties acros

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

An ordinance proposed for discussion at a 2:00PM June 30th meeting of the Santa Fe County Commission would impose a one-year moratorium on the development of qualifying data center facilities in Santa Fe County, giving the County time to study and develop a framework for governing data center development. We applaud Santa Fe County Commissioners for proactive consideration of a data center moratorium to allow for the development of comprehensive protective regulations in San

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

In February we collected more than 4500 public comments opposing air permits for the massive fossil fueled "microgrids" planned to power Project Jupiter. In response to that overwhelming public opposition, Project Jupiter backers pivoted to a new fossil fuel solution. They now plan to power their hyperscale data center with Bloom Energy's Solid Oxide Fuel Cells and have a applied for a new air permit under the name Yucca Growth Infrastructure (YGI). The greenwashing is strong

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

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

Thank you to everyone who showed up in support of State Land Office (SLO) proposed amendments to strengthen financial assurance requirements for oil and gas operators yesterday and this morning. As we noted in our opening statement: New Mexico is facing an orphan well crisis of staggering proportions, and it did not happen by accident. It is the predictable result of an oil and gas business model that allows major operators to extract enormous profits during the productive li

Ahead of tomorrow’s hearing on the State Land Office proposal to strengthen bonding requirements for oil and gas operators on state lands, New Energy Economy today released a major new report warning that New Mexico taxpayers will face billions of dollars in oil and gas cleanup liabilities unless state regulators act now to strengthen bonding and financial assurance requirements for oil and gas operators. This proposed rule is critical because abandoned oil and gas wells can

Today we have the chance to take proactive action for good regulation! We can hold the oil and gas industry in New Mexico accountable for properly plugging and remediating thousands of oil and gas wells drilled on state land across New Mexico. In April the State Land Office proposed a new rule to strengthen bonding requirements for oil and gas development on state lands. Two public comment hearings will be held next week on May 27th and 28th at 9:00AM at the State Land Office

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

Yesterday we witnessed violence. It was dressed up in nice clothes and a veneer of democracy, but it was violence nonetheless. Water Quality Control Commissioner's gave lip service to the truth. They agreed that the oil and gas industry fracking waste discharge rule proposed before them was incomplete, that there are no standards to protect human health and the environment for the twenty pages of chemicals listed in the petition (not to mention about 1000 more that are simply

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

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

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

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

Yesterday you showed up to defend our water. New Mexican's from across the state made an impassioned plea to the Commission: water is kin, water is sacred, we cannot risk contaminating the water that gives us life. Farmers, acequieros, tribal members, business owners, teachers, parents, medical professionals, scientists and former oil and gas workers from across the state - from Taos to Espanola to Albuquerque to Doña Ana County - each gave their time and spoke passionately i