New PRC regulators admit they erred when asking for rehearing of merger case

Two members of the state Public Regulation Commission on Wednesday said they had “erred” in March when they asked the New Mexico Supreme Court to dismiss a case on the controversial merger proposal for Public Service Company of New Mexico and Connecticut-based power company Avangrid.

The companies had appealed to the Supreme Court a December 2021 decision by previous commissioners rejecting the merger deal. In a joint request with PNM and Avangrid in early March, the new commissioners asked the court to dismiss the appeal and remand the case to the PRC for a “rehearing.”

However, Commissioners Gabriel Aguilera and James Ellison said at a meeting Wednesday a rehearing of the merger case would be improper because such a proceeding would have to occur within 10 days of an original order. They plan instead to request to “reopen” the case, a proceeding they said would offer due process protections to all parties.