How can there be a public comment hearing on a merger case that has been “put on pause” by the PRC, in its recent ruling about an illegal PNM stock sale to Blackstone? 

Confused about the whole PNM-Blackstone issue? You’re not the only one. 

Here’s an explanation.

There are two issues involved in the proposed PNM-Blackstone merger: (1) Stock Sale: the PRC ruled recently that the recent PNM stock sale to Blackstone violated regulations and thus put the entire proposed merger on permanent pause; and (2) the larger issue of the proposed merger. PNM and Blackstone have delayed the deadline for the proposed merger to mid-2027 after this regulatory setback (over the stock sale).

Think we don’t need to keep making our voices heard about the proposed Blackstone-PNM merger? Think again. Keep your merger protest signs handy. Get your pens ready to write. Plan to attend the hearing. We’re not done yet.

Rep. Roybal-Caballero unwraps the recent PRC decision about the sale of PNM stock to Blackstone in her recent letter and how it affects the proposed merger (Link here).

Rep. Roybal-Caballero wrote:

“Here is what the PRC ruled: “On July 2, 2026, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) delivered a major ruling in the Blackstone-PNM case. In a 2-1 vote, the Commission found that Blackstone and TXNM Energy violated New Mexico law when they completed a $400 million stock transaction without first obtaining required regulatory approval. The Commission ordered the transaction reversed, declared it void, imposed $300,000 in penalties, and required that New Mexico ratepayers be protected from any costs associated with unwinding the transaction,” Rep. Roybal Caballero wrote in her letter to friends and neighbors; it included her letter to the PRC, which covered other issues as well.

She clarifies what this decision does and does not mean: “The PRC did not approve the transaction. It did not excuse the violation. Commissioners Patrick O’Connell and Gabriel Aguilera concluded that the transaction should never have occurred without prior approval and voted to void it, impose penalties, and protect ratepayers from bearing any resulting costs.”

And, more importantly: “The larger $11.5 billion acquisition of TXNM Energy, the parent company of PNM, by Blackstone remains pending before the PRC. The merger has neither been approved nor denied, the hearings are indefinitely postponed until the joint applicants unwind the illegal $400 million stock transaction and prove that ratepayers will not pay any costs associated with reversing the deal before any further hearings. The deadline to meet this burden is August 16th, 2026. From that point, interveners in the case have 30 days to respond. This case is ever evolving, and our office will be following it closely,” Rep. Roybal Caballero committed. (2 future dates in the letter have been deleted here, as updates since her letter was written renders them obsolete.)”