For nearly six hours in the University of New Mexico Student Union Building, over 100 people took turns speaking to the New Mexico Public Regulatory Commission during a public comment session, with none being in favor of private equity firm Blackstone’s acquisition of the state’s electricity provider, Public Service Company of New Mexico.
Several speakers at public comment on Tuesday, Feb. 17, spoke about Blackstone’s major investments in AI data centers, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman’s ties to pedophile sex offender Jeffery Epstein and criticized the operation of private equity firms as a whole.
Blackstone Infrastructure and TXNM Energy Inc, which owns PNM, announced the $11.5 billion deal last May, and would result in Blackstone taking ownership of TXNM, according to Source NM.
UNM PhD student Natalie Rojas spoke on the environmental implications of AI data centers and how the New Mexico House of Representatives unanimously approved to investigate Epstein’s Zorro Ranch property near Santa Fe, hoping the PRC would not support a company with ties to Epstein.
“AI is already using a ridiculous amount of water to allow grown men to create salacious images of minors,” Rojas said, referring to AI features on social media platform X that allowed users to generate non-consensual sexual imagery, largely of women and minors, according to The New York Times.
“Don’t make New Mexicans pay with our dollars and our environment to support that kind of activity,” Rojas said.
In 2013, an email addressing Epstein lists Schwarzman as one of many hosts of a cocktail party in New York City, including President Donald Trump and convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein. In 2008, Epstein pled guilty to a state charge in Florida of procuring for prostitution a girl under the age of 18.
PNM spokesperson Eric Chavez wrote in a statement to the Daily Lobo that Blackstone Infrastructure and its subsidiaries “do not have any data centers in New Mexico nor are they in queue for New Mexico.”
“PNM is working with other data center developers, and we respond to those inquiries the same as any other prospective customers. We do not get to choose who our customers are. If they are in our service territory, we are legally required to provide them power,” Chavez wrote.
Chavez also wrote that he encourages community members to “review the filing and learn more about the customer protections”.
“Many of the organized activist comments do not reflect the details of the filing or the way utility rates are regulated in New Mexico. Numerous concerns raised are already addressed within the filing itself,” Chavez wrote.
According to a press release, the acquisition would provide $175 million total to customers and communities in New Mexico, lowering the average residential customer bill by 3.5%.
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Regarding the pushback from some New Mexicans, a Blackstone spokesperson wrote in a statement to the Daily Lobo that Blackstone has had “a number of productive conversations with customer advocacy groups, businesses, political and community leaders” and that the $175 million package “directly addresses the needs of New Mexican families and businesses.”
“We encourage everyone in the community to review the application available on PNM’s website to better understand these benefits and protections,” they wrote.
In October 2025, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a protest to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reject Blackstone’s application to buy PNM because it’s “contrary to the public interest” and fails to meet statutory requirements by risking cross-subsidization. In this case, the fears expressed by the CBD are that Blackstone’s ownership of PNM would allow them to charge customers higher prices to subsidize the operation of potential AI-related ventures in the state.
George Schroeder, a PNM customer, told the PRC they’re “being duped” by Blackstone.
“There’s no incentive for the people that want to buy this utility to invest in the infrastructure that provides the power,” Schroeder said. “I think rates are going to increase inevitably, okay, but where’s the money going to go? Is it going to go into the quality of the infrastructure so our grid does not collapse like it has in the state of Texas?”
Associated Students at UNM Director of Environmental Affairs Caitlyn Bizzell said the public should have the biggest say when it comes to utility resources.
“A deal with Blackstone will do nothing for the people of New Mexico,” Bizzell said. “It will continue to funnel capital from the New Mexico economy into the pockets of private entities and wealthy individuals.”
Syd Rae Sanchez told the PRC how the oil and gas industry has impacted his community in Southwestern New Mexico.
“It’s heavily industrialized down there, and it’s a lot different than when I first grew up out there. I don’t recognize the area anymore,” Sanchez said. “We don’t have a lot of water, and that industry is just taking it all. I don’t want that to be the same way over here. We have a beautiful area over here, and I want to keep it that way."
Jonathan Juarez urged the PRC “not to be swayed by promised incentives or carefully crafted corporate messaging.”
“Electricity is not abstract, it is life-sustaining infrastructure. It powers hospitals, dialysis machines, ventilators, refrigeration for medicine, heat in the winter and cooling in the summer,” Juarez said. “This commission is tasked by law with protecting the public interest, and public interest means more than rates on a bill. It means confidence, legitimacy, and moral authority over systems people cannot live without. Blackstone executives operating from Manhattan skyscrapers are not accountable to New Mexican families when that trust is broken. They do not live with the consequences.”
Leila Chapa is the social media and photo editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on X @paloma_chapa88
Leila Chapa is the social media editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @paloma_chapa88
