Today’s PRC decision to deny the PNM-Avangrid merger shows just how important advocacy is and that your voice matters. Now we can turn our attention to the Roundhouse and the 2022 legislative session. And the PRC now turns its attention to Four Corners.
The Hearing Decision
The PRC vote was 5-0 to reject the PNM-Avangrid merger! I hope you all realize what a huge win this is. And the odds were stacked against us, with Democratic leadership, including the Governor, the Attorney General, several legislators, and faux environmental organizations like Western Resources Advocates and Conservation Voters New Mexico all lined up behind the merger.
While we owe this win to New Energy Economy for their courageous leadership, we also owe it to PNM/Avangrid/Iberdrola’s hubris, disregard for the regulatory process, and a long history of poor utility management, and corruption. We won. The people of New Mexico won. Thank you to all of you who raised your voice!
Four Corners Being Heard by PRC Now!
What is at stake? After more than 60 years, PNM is proposing to “abandon” its shares in the Four Corners Coal Power Plant (FCPP). But instead of supporting the closure of the plant, PNM is paying $75M to Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC) to take over its shares and NTEC plans to keep the plant operating. This isn’t the first time PNM has prolonged the life of the coal plant. While El Paso Electric did a financial analysis and made a wise decision in 2013 to get out of the plant, PNM recklessly reinvested nearly $1 billion without a financial analysis, causing the coal plant to remain open. Now their planned sale of ownership shares could again prevent closure of FCPP, and PNM wants a $300M bailout from ratepayers for their poor management decisions.
The PRC Hearing Examiner recommended approval of the plan, ignoring experts who predict early closure if the transfer is denied, and proposing postponement of a previously agreed prudence review of PNM’s investments in the plant until the next rate case. This is a legally untenable solution that is likely to leave ratepayers holding the bag for PNM’s losses – an economic injustice that will affect rates for more than 25 years.
If you want to view that hearing, click here. It begins at 4 p.m. today (Dec. 8).
Join us tonight to kick off our 2022 Roundhouse Advocacy
Kick-Off Legislative Strategy Huddle, Weds., December 8, 6-7pm. Learn about the bills we will support and those we may oppose. Also find out how you can be part of the Retake legislative advocacy strategy, including organizing Constituent-Legislator Conversations before the Session begins. This is a crucial huddle as we prepare for the Session that begins Jan. 18. Click here to register.
After our Zoom tonight, Roxanne and I are taking a few days off to focus on preparing for the coming Session. So no posts for a bit.
In solidarity & hope
Paul & Roxanne
Categories: Uncategorized
This is SUCH WONDERFUL NEWS!!!! A very decisive 5-0 victory!!! Thank you so much for bringing this to reader’s attention on your site!!! A great service to the community!
Thanks so much for keeping us updated
BRAVO! Good work, all you people! THANK YOU!
This is wonderful news ! Congratulations, everyone; all the best, Dana M. Santa Fe NOW !!
Many members of Indivisible SOS Santa fe have been following your blogs and wrote to the PRC commissioners advocating that they favor current performance issues, lawsuits, rate increases and outages over promises. Thanks for all your work on this!
Best news we have had in a long time. Thank you for staying informed and keeping us updated.
Thank you Paul and Roxanne. Makes me think my letter to Maestas had some impact after all. I did not expect him to vote NO.
Such great news. And a reminder that We CAN make a difference. Something to bring up when others feel helpless. We are not helpless. We are powerful.
Now, what do we replace this failed utility with? What do we do to take full advantage of the massive renewable resource in NM to drag the state, kicking and screaming, out of the prison and death row of O and G and Coal? How do we remake an energy consumption that averages well more than two million calories per day per person, most of it A and G and coal?
PNM will attempt to sabotage many of these efforts. They have never played fair, or well with others. Our legislature is substandard, uninformed and under massive influence from the corporate world. Take a look at the donation numbers. Take a look at our ambitious governor and her delusions of grandeur.
Now the blowback will begin, and we had better have something, more than one something, to put forward that makes sense and involves the entire citizenry. We are fifty years behind on doing this, and the powers that be will not let us forget this.
I was astounded how much money PNM spent in propaganda, the ads, the lawyers, the endorsements, the ‘fake plans and surveys and aids all customers were suddenly barraged with online and via the mails.
We spent many months fighting this, our cupboards are bare, we are inundated with covid among the red populations and those fearful of vaxxing due to records collections.
Just asking.
Mick Nickel
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!