Dec. 6—A long-fought proposal for a merger with New Mexico's largest electric utility has been dead almost a year, but East Coast energy giant Avangrid continues a fight in the state Supreme Court over the merger case record.
The Connecticut-based company — a subsidiary of global energy giant Iberdrola — seeks to vacate a scathing order from the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission that years ago rejected a $4.3 billion merger with Public Service Company of New Mexico based on a finding that the deal was not in the public's interest.
While company executives have not commented on the reason for the request, an opponent of the merger proposal notes it comes amid Iberdrola's effort to take over Avangrid and could be an attempt to shield the record from increased scrutiny.
The December 2021 order from New Mexico utility regulators stated the merger deal was not designed to benefit PNM's 500,000 customers but to give Avangrid and Iberdrola a "strategic beachhead" for energy activities in the Southwest — even after increasing proposed benefits for PNM customers following months of negotiations between the utilities and advocacy organizations.
The companies appealed the decision the following month.
After a PRC overhaul brought in a new crop of governor-appointed commissioners in 2023, the utilities attempted to revive the merger by having the case sent back to the commission for reconsideration, but the efforts failed. Avangrid executives announced the company was abandoning the merger proposal in January.
Attorneys for Avangrid in recent weeks asked the state Supreme Court to issue an order forcing the commission to vacate its final order in the merger case. The move comes after the company earlier this year failed to convince current commissioners to dismiss the case — and the 2021 order rejecting the deal — as "moot."
Avangrid spokesperson Joanie Griffin declined to comment on the case or the timing of the motion.
The dispute before the Supreme Court remains only between Avangrid, Santa Fe-based renewable energy advocacy group New Energy Economy and the commission. PNM is no longer a party to the appeal and has not taken a position on Avangrid's efforts to null the 2021 order.
The director New Energy Economy — which battled the merger proposal for years — alleges Avangrid is now attempting to "rewrite history" by wiping away the record.
"They don't want anyone to see those last, scathing documents in the case," Mariel Nanasi said in an interview. "They want the law changed just for them, which is consistent with how they've acted this whole time in New Mexico."