If not Avangrid — then who?

If you have been paying attention to the changes in our environment, both locally and globally over the past decades, and the increasingly accelerating trends of significant environmental disruption to our planet, then you understand the need for bold action and the unique opportunity we have in New Mexico with Avangrid’s interest in investing in our state.

It has been extremely disappointing to hear of holdups with the proposed PNM/Avangrid merger. This deal is good for New Mexico, and I worry that if the Public Regulation Commission doesn’t seize this opportunity and approve the merger soon, we could lose out on the only opportunity we have to write our own renewable energy future.

I’ve been a practicing architect for over three decades, committed to sustainable, green building design. I strive to be environmentally responsible and was an early adopter to electric vehicles. While there are important details to be worked out, I welcome a forward-thinking, renewables-focused company like Avangrid to our state.

Seeing the renewable energy generation projects they’ve led, like the first-of-its-kind Vineyard Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts, which will provide electricity for over 400,000 homes and create 3,600 jobs, I’m optimistic about the company and what it could mean for our state. Imagine wind and solar projects of this scale coming to fruition in our New Mexico! We need this kind of renewable investment in our state, to create high-paying jobs and transition away from our financial dependence on fossil fuels.

To meet the governor’s renewable energy goals will take a huge investment in the state’s infrastructure. PNM’s holding company is simply not able to make that investment without the backing of a major financial powerhouse like Avangrid. One of the benefits of the merger is that Avangrid’s holding company will absorb the existing debt of PNM’s holding company, which will enable real investment to update our aging infrastructure and bring exciting new projects that will create jobs, offset carbon emissions and provide clean, renewable energy for our state.

In New Mexico, we too often get in our own way, and that holds us back, but I believe in New Mexico’s future as a model renewable energy state. This will be possible only if we boldly and optimistically move toward that future, which means partnering with a company like Avangrid that has the resources and experience to get us there. I sincerely hope Public Regulation Commission members will take it upon themselves to do the right thing.