When I was a Commissioner on the PRC (2013-2021) we met in executive session fewer times in eight years than the current Commissioners have who have served for less than four months. We believed that we had a responsibility to the public – to conduct our business transparently and according to the rules.
After five closed executive sessions on the Avangrid/PNM merger the new PRC has colluded with Avangrid/PNM to jointly ask the Court to do something that appears, frankly, illegal. They are asking the Court to dismiss the Avangrid/PNM appeal and send it back to the PRC for rehearing. That would be the process if Avangrid/PNM won on appeal. But they haven’t won, nor is it likely they would.
The public should thank and be grateful for the work of Mariel Nanasi of New Energy Economy who has exposed the malfeasance of the utility giants. When I was at the PRC, I worked closely with extraordinary staff such as PRC Chief Hearing Examiner, Ashley Schannauer; he authored a meticulous opinion detailing some of the main problems with the proposed merger:
Loss of local control and the resulting difficulty of continuing to regulate PNM, especially given that Avangrid is owned by foreign companies Iberdrola S.A. (81.5%) and Qatar Investment Authority;
Mountains of evidence that where Iberdrola/Avangrid had acquired US utilities in the Northeast, those utilities experienced outages and unreliability, diminished service quality, billing problems, more than $65 million in penalties and violations, failure to abide Commission rules and law; and
Iberdrola/Avangrid testified that their goal was to use PNM as their “beachhead,” a military term to land and from where an attack can be launched. This “admission” is Iberdrola/Avangrid’s view: Iberdrola/Avangrid didn’t choose PNM so it could make PNM a better utility to provide better service to New Mexicans. Iberdrola/Avangrid chose PNM to get a Southwestern ‘platform’ in the form of a government-protected monopoly from which to squash competition, consolidate the renewable energy market, drive up energy prices and sell OUR solar and wind for their private profit and export it to Spain. All of us are in favor of renewable energy, which will shortly dominate the grid, but not for the exploitation of a foreign company with such a bad track record.
After the PRC rejection of the merger, Avangrid/PNM of course had the right to appeal the decision to the New Mexico Supreme Court. What the Court should not permit is to be played by these companies to override the PRC’s decision. If Avangrid/PNM think they have such a good case let the appeal proceed in the ordinary course. On the other hand, if Avangrid/PNM wish to dismiss their appeal then the merger denial stands. Then if Avangrid/PNM apply with a new merger proposal or if Avangrid/PNM can convince the PRC to reopen the case based on new evidence or law or that the “public interest” requires then they can follow the rules. The Court should deny the PNM/Avangrid/PRC motion – they must play by the same rules as everyone else.
Some good news is that we have a new Attorney General! AG Raul Torrez wrote in response as to the timing and legitimacy of a dismissal and rubberstamp rehearing: “The proposed merger at issue in this appeal presents an issue that is too important to ratepayers and to the citizens of this state to permit even the possibility of it being decided behind closed doors. Further, this matter has been the subject of lengthy proceedings, involving the introduction of voluminous evidence contained in more than 40,000 pages of the record proper. … The Attorney General respectfully asks this Court to fix [] terms necessary and appropriate to protect both the right of all parties to due process and the public’s right to transparency in decision-making on this matter of substantial public interest.” My hat is off to AG Torrez who is actually paying attention to the potential and evident harm to PNM customers.
Lastly, I can’t contemplate why the Governor can support approval of this merger agreement when the evidence shows clearly that approval would not be in the public interest. I am aware that PNM and Avangrid and their PACs have showered her with money but does this trump her love and care for New Mexico? I hope for all of us that the Court will remain an independent institution that acts with integrity, not political influence.
Valerie Espinoza
Former Chair,
NM Public Regulation Commission