During a July 28 Public Regulation Commission hearing regarding Blackstone’s acquisition of PNM, New Mexico residents filled the UNM Student Union Building ballroom and staged a “mic check” protest, calling the 6-hour hearing a “mockery of the democratic process.”
Attendees repeated the words of Youth United for Climate Crisis Action member Zephyr Jaramillo, who led the mic check, and questioned the PRC on why the hearing was taking place in the first place while the acquisition is on pause due to Blackstone and TXNM — PNM’s parent company — having violated state law.
The PRC determined in June that TXNM and the private equity firm Blackstone violated state law in 2025 when they conducted a $400 million stock sale connected to the acquisition, according to Source NM.
“The PRC has already ruled Blackstone and PNM broke the law,“ the crowd said in unison. “Yet here we are being asked to comment on an application that is fatally flawed.”
In a statement to the Daily Lobo, NMPRC Public Information Officer Patrick Rodriguez wrote that earlier this month, the commission confirmed that the 2025 stock purchase violated state law because it occurred without the required commission approval.
“As a result, the PRC ruled the transaction legally void and canceled the current procedural schedule for the acquisition case,” Rodriguez’s statement reads.
The commission held the July 28 hearing in response to the significant public interest surrounding the proposed acquisition of Public Service Company of New Mexico, according to Rodriguez.
“The process will resume once the companies involved in the stock purchase submit a plan addressing the unapproved transaction. A final decision on the acquisition remains pending and will move forward after the evidentiary hearing is rescheduled and completed,” Rodriguez wrote.
Jonathan Juarez, an organizer with YUCCA, said that he and other members of YUCCA were concerned that the PRC used this public comment hearing as an opportunity to “rewrite history,” after the previous public comment hearing did not have any speakers in support of the acquisition.
“Hearing examiners for the PRC officially put the merits proceeding on pause, so that means that there actually isn't even an active case for the public to be commenting on,” Juarez told the Daily Lobo. “We are concerned that this is providing an opportunity for industry to organize people in the room.”
Andrew Mayorga, a district council representative for the Laborers’ International Union of North America, spoke in support of the acquisition, along with other LiUNA members dressed in orange shirts.
“We're here to support Blackstone, who's an industry partner of LiUNA,” Mayorga told the Daily Lobo after speaking at public comment. “We are here to show our support because it seems like nobody else is supporting this acquisition with Blackstone coming into New Mexico.”
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When asked whether the LiUNA members were financially incentivised to show up and speak in support of the acquisition, Blackstone spokesperson Paula Chirhart wrote that there is “absolutely no truth to the speculation," and referred the Daily Lobo to Mayorga, who said in a Tuesday phone call that Blackstone did not pay him to speak, and that he is paid by LiUNA.
LiUNA is a national labor union that largely represents construction, utility and energy workers, according to their website.
During public comment, Mayorga partially directed his comments at those who spoke against Blackstone during the hearing.
“Most of those residents are probably retired. That's typically what comes to a lot of these events,” Mayorga said. “That's why I had to call them out, it's unfortunate, but no one cares whether or not the union works,” Mayorga said.
In June, PNM and Blackstone committed to investing $20 million in New Mexico trades jobs and workforce development should the acquisition be approved, according to a joint press release.
“The proposed $20 million investment is an investment directly into the future of New Mexico,” Chirhart wrote. “The investment is focused on workforce development and training pathways rather than funding specific construction projects or providing direct funding to construction companies.”
In a Tuesday interview, LiUNA Local 16 Business Manager Darrell Deaguero said he supports the acquisition because of its potential to bring new construction jobs with data center projects like Project Jupiter — the proposed hyperscale data center in Santa Teresa, NM.
“Project Jupiter is a massive undertaking down in southern New Mexico. We have people that are working on it right now,” Deaguero said. “You really don't get those opportunities for projects of that magnitude in these more rural areas.”
In a separate statement to the Daily Lobo regarding data centers, Chirhart wrote that “Blackstone Infrastructure and its subsidiaries do not have any data centers in New Mexico nor are they in the queue for New Mexico.”
In another statement, TXNM spokesperson Lisa Goodman wrote that PNM is working with data center developers and responds 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. Additionally, for PNM, rates for new large customers must ensure costs are allocated in a way that protects existing customers,” Goodman wrote.
Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce president Terry Cole also spoke in favor of the acquisition during the July 28 public comment, citing the need to "modernize the grid and "acquire power generated from renewable sources."
In a statement to the Daily Lobo, PNM senior communications representative Eric Chavez wrote that the testimony deadlines and hearings have been paused, but in the meantime, the case remains active before the Commission.
To continue the regulatory approval process before the NMPRC, PNM, TXNM and Blackstone subsidiary Troy ParentCo were required to file a compliance report with NMPRC before the end of July, citing how they would comply with state law, document financial implications and protect customers.
The compliance report was filed on July 27 and includes an extension of the merger between Blackstone and TXNM. The extended date of the merger agreement is May 31, 2027.
TopCo, a holding company owned by Blackstone, has agreed to “retain the dividends amounts in lieu of interest payments that otherwise would have been owed by TXNM,” and Blackstone will keep $13.3 million in dividends that shareholders receive throughout the year, according to the compliance report.
“If TXNM Energy had borrowed the money at its market debt cost, the interest on the $400 million would have been significantly greater at approximately $25 million.” Chavez wrote.
A TXNM press release from July 17 states that part of the extension of the merger includes Blackstone Infrastructure acquiring the outstanding common stock of TXNM Energy.
The merger agreement includes a $350 million termination fee, half of which was waived in the agreement, dropping it to $175 million.
If the stock purchase did not go through, attorneys from New Mexico non-profit Prosperity Works argue that PNM’s share of the original termination fee would have translated to a one year, 16% rate reduction for PNM customers, according to Source NM.
Goodman wrote in a statement to the Daily Lobo that Prosperity Works is “incorrect.”
“We did not have a legal basis to collect a termination fee from Blackstone Infrastructure,” the statement reads. “We will respond through the Commission process and look forward to demonstrating the long-term benefits of the transaction to New Mexico and the communities we serve.”
Chavez wrote in his earlier statement that the adjustment to reduce the termination fee “reflects the current status of the regulatory approval processes and the delays in the expected timeline.”
Customers do not share in any termination fee paid to TXNM and Blackstone but are “protected” from any transactional costs or fees, Chavez wrote.
“The question we have to consider now is how deep does corruption run in this state? Are we going to see PNM and TXNM sell out not only ratepayers, but also their shareholders?” Juarez said. “We are still holding out hope that the PRC will do their job and protect New Mexicans from this private equity takeover.”
Leila Chapa is the photo and social media editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the news and multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @paloma_chapa88
Leila Chapa is the 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 Twitter @paloma_chapa88
