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New Energy Economy's mission is to build a renewable energy future for our health and the environment

With bold legal interventions, public policy advocacy, and grassroots action we fight for a fossil-fuel and nuclear-free economy that stewards both the health of our environment and our communities. A Just Transition to renewable energy is not just about reducing carbon emissions but transforming our energy system, as we do so we must redress social inequity, build people power, and foster economic and environmental justice.

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what's happening now

OPPOSING THE GOVERNOR'S PLAN TO RE-USE FRACKING WASTE

We opposed the Governor's "Strategic Water Supply," a plan to use public money to fund treatment and re-use of fracking waste, a process lacking scientific evidence of safety and necessity. We won, defeating five enabling bills in the 2024 legislative session, we won again in May 2025 at the Water Quality Control Commission where a rule was passed to prohibit reuse outside the oilfield, we won again in November, defeating a corrupted new petition process at the WQCC, and again in the 2026 Legislative session. Now we are defending the prohibition rule at the WQCC again!

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OPPOSING BLACKSTONE BUYOUT OF PNM

Blackstone is planning to buy PNM because it can profit off captive New Mexico electricity customers, who will be forced to fund the grid expansion necessary to power its data center empire. Blackstone ownership will result in crushing rate increases for New Mexico families and small businesses already suffering under federal cutbacks, tariffs and inflation. The willingness of Blackstone to pay a 23% acquisition premium over PNM’s actual value means they expect to get that extra money back from customers, plus a 9.45% guaranteed return.

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OPPOSING A PRIVATE EQUITY TAKEOVER OF NM GAS COMPANY

Bernhard Capital Group has applied to the PRC to buy out the NM Gas Company. As a private equity company, Bernhard would not be required to report any financial information to the SEC, making proper oversight and regulation impossible. Private equity firms routinely purchase companies with the intent to cut costs, squeeze out high dividents for shareholders and then sell the stripped down company after a few years. Care for service, ratepayers and the environment are not considered.

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RESISTING DIRTY DATA CENTERS

New Mexico is experiencing a flood of new data center projects, pitched as "economic development,” that will extend fossil fuel dependence at the expense of New Mexico utility ratepayers and our environment. The convergence of the AI boom with associated rising electricity demand, New Mexico’s weak and fragmented regulatory environment and expanses of cheap, rural land have data center developers like Blackstone, Borderplex and others salivating over our state. New Energy Economy is engaging at the local and state level against polluting data center projects that threaten our people, our water and our climate.

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FEATURED NEWS

Tell NMED - Let us live! Last day to ask them to reject Project Jupiter's air pollution application

On Friday we mistakenly wrote that the final day to comment was January 6th. That day is today. July 6th. If you have not already done so, please join us in asking NMED to reject Project Jupiter's plan to pollute our air with another 10 million tons - 20 billion pounds - of climate destroying CO2 every year. A monstrous crime against humanity and ecology, solely for the profit of Sam Altman and Larry Ellison. If ever there was a time to Rage Against the Machine, today is that

New Energy Economy

Hearing Examiners Order at 5PM Yesterday: Blackstone Acquisition of PNM on HOLD until compliance with unwinding of illegal stock purchase determined.

Yesterday the PRC issued an order affirming the findings of the Hearing Examiners in the Blackstone/TXNM acquisition case: Blackstone and TXNM intentionally and knowingly violated NMSA § 62-6-12, completing a $400 million stock transaction without first obtaining the approval required by the Public Utility Act. Just before 5PM yesterday the Hearing Examiners issued an order granting a Joint Motion we filed in June asking that any hearing on the merits of the merger must be po

New Energy Economy

PRC Finds Blackstone and TXNM violated the law! Penalties ordered, and ratepayers to be held harmless

Today the PRC issued an order affirming the findings of the Hearing Examiners in the Blackstone/TXNM acquisition case: Blackstone and TXNM intentionally and knowingly violated NMSA § 62-6-12, completing a $400 million stock transaction without first obtaining the approval required by the Public Utility Act. The Commissioners further upheld the Hearing Examiners recommendation that maximum penalties will be levied against TXNM, Troy TopCo, and Troy ParentCo, $300,000 ($100,000

New Energy Economy

Yesterday Santa Fe County Commissioners listened to the people and passed a model data center moratorium

On Tuesday the Santa Fe County Commission voted unanimously to adopt an 18 month Data Center Moratorium Ordinance to allow time for study and adoption of critical regulations to protect against data center harms in Santa Fe County. Hundreds of you emailed the Commissioners, and dozens showed up at the meeting to ask for critical amendments to the published draft. The result? A strong ordinance that will protect Santa Fe County residents and serve as a model for counties acros

New Energy Economy

ABQ Journal Admits: We might have made a mistake. Now we must make the best of it.

On Thursday the PRC will make a momentous decision - do they concur with the Hearing Examiners (HE) who found that Blackstone and PNM broke the law when they deliberately chose not to get prior approval before consummating their $400M stock transaction, and critically, what impact will that have on Blackstone's plan to buy our electric utility. The HE politely suggested that Blackstone and PNM should resubmit their application. We have argued that because the HE found that th

New Energy Economy

Yes we did! We filed a motion to dismiss Project Jupiter’s air permit! 👏👏👏

@newenergyeconomynm argues Project Jupiter’s application for an air quality permit should be thrown out because the natural gas pipeline that would fuel the massive Southern New Mexico data center has yet to be legally authorized.

In a motion filed Tuesday, New Energy Economy noted State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard has twice denied a Project Jupiter-related application — most recently last month — to run a portion of natural gas pipeline through state trust land. The pipeline, dubbed the Green Chile Lateral, is seemingly the only way to supply the expected 400 million cubic feet of gas the data center will require each day.

“Whether Project Jupiter will ever exist now depends upon an entirely separate administrative proceeding challenging the Commissioner’s denial of the Green Chili Lateral pipeline. That appeal has not even begun. It may take years. It may never succeed,” New Energy Economy’s motion states.

It adds, “The ability to deliver approximately 400 million cubic feet of natural gas every day is not merely one feature of Project Jupiter. It is the project. Without fuel, there is no electric generation. Without electric generation, there is no data center.”

The air quality permit is now the biggest barrier to the completion of the lightning rod project, which is part of the $500 billion, four-year Stargate initiative to build infrastructure for artificial intelligence for companies like Oracle and OpenAI.

Photos: @fcdx.da

New Energy Economy has filed an Appeal of the PRC decision to sell out New Mexicans in NM Gas Company buyout case at the NM Supreme Court 🙌

PRC Commissioners O’Connell and Nibert voted for the private equity firm BCP to buyout NM Gas Co deciding that when a private company buys exclusive, monopoly access to captive utility customers, they do not have to provide any meaningful benefit to those customers.

BCP buyout of NM Gas is NOT a good deal for New Mexicans
Raise your hand in the comments if you’d like to get involved 👏👏
👉BCP has only 1 year of gas utility experience
Customers will only get $3.29 back on their monthly bill for 1 year

👉There is only a 2-month rate freeze.
After that, BCP can apply to raise gas rates.

👉The Board of Directors will have only three “disinterested” directors, and all will be selected by private equity firm BCP
Implementing an expensive proposed IT system that BCP has failed to prove would provide any direct benefit to its customers.

The Commission abandoned its longstanding requirement that utility mergers produce a net public benefit, replacing it with a far weaker standard that merely maintains the “status quo.”

New Energy Economy argues that this unprecedented change in legal standards violates New Mexico law and undermines the Commission’s fundamental duty to protect the public.

Hearing examiners find Blackstone and PNM violated New mexico laws and recommended undoing the 4 million stock deal 🙌

Mariel Nanasi, whose Santa Fe nonprofit @newenergyeconomynm is a party in the case, said Monday’s recommendation “raises serious questions about the fitness and judgment of the entities seeking to acquire one of New Mexico’s most important public utilities.”

Her group has long been critical of past utility deals, including the failed takeover of TXNM by Avangrid Inc. just a few years earlier.

“They spent millions of dollars on lawyers trying to explain away a transaction that never should have happened,” Nanasi said.

“Today’s decision sends a clear message: billion-dollar Wall Street firms do not get a hall pass to ignore state law.”

As reported by Justin Horwath in Abq Journal

👏👏👏👏Private equity firm Blackstone is now under investigation for purchase of $400 million merger related stock from PNM without prior approval by the New Mexico PRC commission.

Investigative legal hearing into Blackstone will be virtual Thursday, April 30th (no public comment taken at this hearing)

Listen to Mariel Nanasi, Attorney at @newenergyeconomynm

The evidentiary hearing on Blackstone’s buyout of PNM is now on hold.

Investigation of Blackstone hearing will be on Thursday, April 30th

Last week @newenergyeconomy and @centerforbiodiv filed a Motion asking why the oil & gas WATR Alliance attorneys, who are seeking permission to reuse and discharge fracking waste in New Mexico, fabricated quotes from peer-reviewed scientific papers in their petition to the WQCC.

Now WATR filed an errata stating that their petition contains “minor clerical errors relating to the ordering and numbering of certain footnotes” and attempts to correct those errors by adding the actual source of their quotes - unsworn statements from a Dr Stoll of the Produced Water Research Consortium at a legislative committee meeting.

The errata compounds the WATR Alliance’s misrepresentation:

* The actual sources of the quotes were omitted while peer-reviewed studies were cited, giving the impression that the authors of the peer-reviewed scientific papers made those conclusive statements. When citing to a direct quote the name of the source is the proper citation. Misattributions of direct quotes are not “minor clerical errors relating to the ordering and numbering of certain footnotes.” They materially impact the weight given to an argument.

The errata perpetuates the material misrepresentations made to the WQCC by again including citations to the peer-reviewed studies as additional sources supporting Dr. Stoll’s statements, a representation that we contest.

None of the studies cited conclude that their “findings indicate that produced water can be treated to a non-toxic level in a real-world setting” as Dr. Stoll said in his unsworn statement to the Committee. Each article cited concludes that further study is necessary.

👏👏👏👏👏New Mexico Department of Justice attorneys are arguing the issuance and sale last year of $400 million in TXNM Energy stock to private equity firm Blackstone should be considered null and void — like it never happened — according to a brief submitted recently to state utility regulators.

The stock deal has come under scrutiny in the course of the private equity giant’s $11.5-billion bid to purchase the utility company, which is the parent of New Mexico’s largest electric utility, Public Service Company of New Mexico.

In regulatory filings this week, the attorney general suggested the companies should be made to start over in their quest for approval from state regulators for the merger. But the companies’ attorneys have maintained the regulatory proceeding can still move forward even if there is a finding that the stock deal violated state law.

The Public Regulation Commission will consider the issue at a hearing Thursday, April 30th

As reported by Nicholas Gilmore in the Santa Fe, New Mexican

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@newenergyeconomynm

PEOPLE POWER

New Energy Economy's mission is to build a renewable energy future for our health and the environment

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR STRATEGY & THEORY OF CHANGE

what's happening now

OPPOSING THE GOVERNOR'S PLAN TO RE-USE FRACKING WASTE

OPPOSING BLACKSTONE BUYOUT OF PNM

OPPOSING A PRIVATE EQUITY TAKEOVER OF NM GAS COMPANY

RESISTING DIRTY DATA CENTERS

FEATURED NEWS

Tell NMED - Let us live! Last day to ask them to reject Project Jupiter's air pollution application

Hearing Examiners Order at 5PM Yesterday: Blackstone Acquisition of PNM on HOLD until compliance with unwinding of illegal stock purchase determined.

PRC Finds Blackstone and TXNM violated the law! Penalties ordered, and ratepayers to be held harmless

Yesterday Santa Fe County Commissioners listened to the people and passed a model data center moratorium

ABQ Journal Admits: We might have made a mistake. Now we must make the best of it.

​

PEOPLE
POWER