From Fortune Magazine:

New Mexico’s largest electric utility, PNM Resources, sees its proposed multibillion-dollar merger with Avangrid, a U.S. subsidiary of global energy giant Iberdrola, scuttled. The all-cash transaction was valued at over $4.3 billion. PNM says it would have brought jobs, customer service improvements, and progress towards carbon-free energy goals to New Mexico.

Avangrid, a subsidiary of global energy giant Iberdrola, terminates its proposed multibillion-dollar merger with PNM Resources. PNM expresses disappointment, claiming the merger would have provided benefits to customers and communities, including utility service and energy efficiency projects.

PNM Resources expresses disappointment over Avangrid’s decision to terminate their proposed merger deal, highlighting the potential benefits the deal would bring to customers and communities. PNM says being backed by Avangrid and Iberdrola would have given the New Mexico utility greater purchasing power and helped achieve its carbon-free goals.

The multibillion-dollar merger plan, first crafted in 2020, was expected to help PNM achieve carbon-free goals. However, regulators have expressed concerns about Avangrid’s reliability and customer service track record, pointing to the company withholding information and a resulting $10,000 penalty.

Official reports have previously detailed the benefits the now-defunct deal with Avangrid and Iberdrola would have brought to PNM. Officials expressed optimism about the increased purchasing power and carbon-free energy goals achievable with the partnership.

One critic, the executive director of New Energy Economy, claimed that New Mexico escaped a corporate takeover of essential energy infrastructure. She claimed that Avangrid and Iberdrola’s customer service records show that the Public Regulation Commission made the right call in rejecting the proposal.



Read more: Iberdrola’s Avangrid spiked by New Mexico regulators in $4.3 billion bid to buy utility PNM Resources