New Evidence: Gas Customers in Louisiana facing sudden 1000% increases in their gas bills after BCP takeover. We filed a Motion to Reopen the Case.

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—ranging from 300% to more than 1,000% within a single billing cycle—often without meaningful changes in usage and without clear explanations. The magnitude of the billing crisis has prompted emergency town halls by local officials and widespread public outcry. Watch more local news coverage of the crisis here, here and here.

New Energy Economy, filed the Motion to Reopen the Record to allow further investigation, discovery, and regulatory review before New Mexico ratepayers are exposed to similar risks. The motion asks the NMPRC to reopen the record to examine BCP’s operational track record, billing practices, internal controls, and customer-protection safeguards before making any final decision on the proposed acquisition. Allowing discovery about the ongoing billing crisis in BCP’s newly-formed Louisiana gas utilities will shed light on what will happen in New Mexico.

The Hearing has concluded, but thus far the Hearing Examiners have not yet issued their recommendation and the PRC has not yet made a decision. Under New Mexico law, when important new evidence emerges, a case can and should be re-opened to ensure that justice is served.

New Mexicans - many already struggling with rising housing, food, and healthcare costs - are particularly vulnerable to sudden utility bill shocks. Utility bills are not discretionary expenses. When gas bills suddenly jump from $30 to $200 or $400, families don’t just ‘tighten their belts’—they miss rent, skip medicine, or face shutoffs. The Commission should not gamble with people’s ability to keep the heat on.

This is exactly the kind of red-flag evidence the Commission is required to take seriously. When customers of a private-equity-owned gas utility are suddenly hit with 300 to 1,000 percent bill increases, that is not a billing glitch—it is a systemic failure. New Mexico law does not require regulators to wait until families here are already in crisis before acting.

The NMPRC has a duty to protect New Mexicans from foreseeable harm. The evidence now before the Commission shows what happens when billing systems, customer service, and profit-driven cost recovery spiral out of control under private-equity ownership. Reopening the record now could prevent irreparable harm to households, seniors, and small businesses across New Mexico.

Earlier this week we learned that the Governor plans a "blue-ribbon commission" to study how to keep energy affordable in New Mexico. We are not waiting for the findings of her commission to protect vulnerable New Mexicans, and you don't have to either.