Today we are working hard to finalize our Brief in Chief opposing PNM's so-called "abandonment" application for the Four Corners Power Plant, an abandonment that will result in prolonging coal fired power and vastly increasing carbon emissions, but we couldn't resist sharing with you the blatant arrogance and naked truth that Avangrid/Iberdrola boasted in their post-hearing brief. Addressing the obligations of the board of directors that will control the monopoly utility: “[D]irectors should have one sole objective: boosting shareholder gain.”
Our response brief, filed on Tuesday, contrasted this revealing statement with the expectation that a company granted a monopoly privilege to provide electricity to New Mexicans has a duty to act in the best interests of its customers, to provide reliable service at reasonable rates and to balance shareholder profit against the needs of ratepayers, not to mention putting a healthy living planet above all else.
Their voracious greed is no surprise, but even we were surprised by the rawness of it, and the fact that they argued for unfettered shareholder extraction as Avangrid/Iberdrola's right! Avangrid/Iberdrola have a long track record of prioritizing profit over customers, over compliance with the law and over the environment.
On that note, we hope that all of you had a chance to watch the incisive speech that Greta Thunberg gave at the Youth4Action Climate summit in Milan the same day we filed our response. As usual she gets right to the heart of the matter - nice words are just that, nice words - until emissions actually start to fall.
“Build back better. Blah, blah, blah. Green economy. Blah blah blah. Net zero by 2050. Blah, blah, blah. This is all we hear from our so-called leaders. Words that sound great but so far have not led to action. Our hopes and ambitions drown in their empty promises.”
Avangrid/Iberdrola's refreshing moment of honesty contrasts with the slick ads that have taken over New Mexico airwaves and newspapers. "Renewable energy leadership...blah blah blah."