New Mexicans continue to weigh in on the proposed sale of the state’s largest utility provider to a private equity firm.
Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) and its parent company TXNM Energy have applied to the state’s Public Regulation Commission for its acquisition by Blackstone Infrastructure in an $11.5 billion deal announced in 2025.
On Tuesday, the Commission hosted a public comment forum on the topic on the main campus of the University of New Mexico.
Before the meeting began, a few dozen activists and others gathered, with speakers standing in front of a large sign demanding “BACK OFF BLACKSTONE.”
“Let’s be clear-eyed about this proposal from Blackstone to buy PNM,” Roxanne Pacheco of Indivisible Albuquerque said to the crowd. “Blackstone is in the business of making money for its shareholders and for its own wealth.”
During the forum, public commentary mostly opposed the proposed sale. Speakers cited fears of electricity rates skyrocketing.
“What surprises me is that the proposal for Blackstone to acquire PNM has gotten this far,” said Lam Ho, who identified himself as a PNM customer. “That with all of this opposition, in a time where affordability is a national crisis, we are still entertaining an ill-advised private equity takeover.”
Paul Szauter, a board member of the New Mexico Foundation for Civic Excellence, said that the purchase of PNM could be Blackstone’s first step in expanding AI data centers in New Mexico.
“Why would they raise the rates?” Szauter said. “They need money to finance the building of data centers. Data centers consume an enormous amount of electricity.”
Szauter and others said that other communities with data centers had price shocks due to increased demand for electricity, and that could happen in New Mexico.
PNM has countered that Blackstone provides the financial resources necessary for investment in the state’s energy infrastructure. Regarding anxieties over higher bills for consumers, PNM points out that rates will continue to be set by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.
While there’s no official deadline for state regulators to make a decision about the sale, PNM and Blackstone expect it in the latter half of the year.
Public comment will be received through May. Details are available at prc.nm.gov.
