PNM, Avangrid continue to promote merger benefits

Majority of PRC members say they will most likely oppose the proposal

Public Service Company of New Mexico defended itself Thursday against criticism from the Public Regulation Commission over a proposed merger with Avangrid of Connecticut.

Although a formal vote hasn’t been taken, three of five members of the Public Regulation Commission declared in a meeting Wednesday they doubted they could support the merger plan involving PNM, Avangrid and Iberdrola of Spain.

The three commissioners expressed concern about an Avangrid subsidiary’s service record in Maine, an ongoing investigation involving the head of Iberdrola, and what they considered cavalier behavior toward New Mexico’s regulatory process.

PNM and Avangrid officials, as well as Attorney General Hector Balderas and others, said Thursday that New Mexico shouldn’t squander the chance to link up with two large companies skilled in renewable energy.

PNM Resources CEO Pat Vincent-Collawn said during a nearly two-hour news conference on Zoom that they wanted to get all the facts out about the benefits of the merger.

Vincent-Collawn said PNM isn’t big enough to hold the finances for emerging technology, to get low-cost loans or to go to the front of the line when equipment is scarce.

“We cannot go it alone,” she said. Balderas, a supporter of the merger, criticized the PRC for its approach. Balderas said, based on the three commissioners’ comments, they have made up their minds while the process is still underway.

He said he hopes the commissioners will critically examine the evidence and dissect a long, harsh assessment of the merger proposal by hearing examiner Ashley Schannauer.

“I am a little concerned that they implied they’re leaning one way or another,” Balderas said.

PRC Chairman Stephen Fischmann and Commissioners Theresa Becenti-Aguilar and Cynthia Hall more than implied where they were leaning — each said they expected to oppose the merger when a formal vote is taken. That could be Wednesday or Dec. 15 or early next year.

Fischmann, of Las Cruces, said Thursday, “Everybody has their right to speech and to tell the public their point of view. … Our job is to look at the facts and the evidentiary record. And our legal responsibility is to make a decision that’s in the public interest, and that’s exactly what I intend to do.”

Speakers on Thursday said 23 of 24 organizations involved in negotiating various merger elements either support the plan or at least don’t oppose it. Mariel Nanasi and her New Energy Economy of Santa Fe have steadfastly fought the plan.

Pedro Azagra Blázquez, an Iberdrola executive and Avangrid board member, said during the news conference the Spanish investigation isn’t a concern.

“This is a preliminary, fact-finding exercise,” Azagra Blázquez said.

Numerous news reports from Spain say Iberdrola CEO Ignacio Galán is being investigated in a case allegedly involving corporate spying.

“We have nothing to hide,” Azagra Blázquez said. “We’re not a corrupt company.”