FERC has approved Blackstone Infrastructure’s proposed $11.5 billion acquisition of TXNM Energy, the parent company of Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM), rejecting concerns the deal could lead to adverse impacts on competition and rates.
FERC reviewed the deal under the commission’s merger policy, finding the transaction consistent with public interest, according to a Feb. 20 order. (EC25-140).
The acquisition has received approval from the Public Utility Commission of Texas and TXNM Energy shareholders. It still requires support from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC).
“The approval of the acquisition by … FERC is an important milestone in the overall regulatory review process and is a great step towards bringing unprecedented benefits to our customers,” PNM spokesperson Eric Chavez told RTO Insider in an email. “The order states that FERC finds the transaction consistent with the public interest, that state and federal regulation will not be impaired and that there will be no adverse impact on rates. We will continue working transparently with regulators, stakeholders and customers as the review continues. Our focus remains on delivering safe, reliable and affordable service to the communities we serve.”
Under the merger, PNM and TXNM Energy would be acquired by Blackstone Infrastructure subsidiary Troy ParentCo. FERC authorized the deal after analyzing its effects on competition, rates and regulations, according to the order.
“Based on applicants’ representations, we find that the proposed transaction will not have an adverse effect on vertical competition,” the commission wrote. “Applicants have demonstrated that the entities involved … do not provide inputs to electricity products or to electricity products in the same market.”
In filings with FERC, the Center for Biological Diversity raised concerns about the deal’s potential adverse impacts on competition and rates in New Mexico. For example, the environmental organization noted that PNM could end up serving Blackstone-owned data centers and other large customers.
Similarly, the center argued Blackstone owns stakes in power producers in New Mexico that could become suppliers of energy to PNM, according to the order.
FERC, however, wrote “these arguments are outside the scope of the commission’s vertical competition analysis.”
“[I]n evaluating vertical market power concerns the commission considers the combination of upstream inputs with downstream capacity and transmission,” the order states. “Ownership by applicants of load sources, whether large or otherwise, does not constitute an input under this analysis.”
TXNM Energy and Blackstone Infrastructure announced the proposed acquisition in May 2025. In addition to PNM, TXNM owns Texas New Mexico Power, a transmission and distribution utility in Texas that serves about 280,000 customers. (See PNM Seeks Approval for Blackstone Acquisition.)
Under terms of the $11.5 billion deal, Blackstone would pay $61.25 per share in cash upon closing. The purchase would be funded through equity and assumption of existing debt.
The benefit package includes a $105 million acquisition rate credit, which would be the largest in state history, according to PNM’s filing with the New Mexico PRC. The credit would be paid to PNM customers over four years and would reduce the average residential customer bill by 3.5%.
PNM serves nearly 550,000 customers in New Mexico, making it the state’s largest electricity provider.
The filing includes a $25 million commitment to speed progress toward the state’s energy transition goals, including funding for new technologies.
The FERC filing states the acquisition would not raise rates charged to either wholesale power sales or transmission service customers.
In its Feb. 20 order, FERC said it found no evidence the deal would adversely affect rates, despite the center’s fear that ratepayers could bear the cost for Blackstone’s proposed $2 billion premium paid to TXNM shareholders.
“We accept applicants’ commitment to hold customers harmless from costs related to the proposed transaction,” the order states. That commitment applies to costs prior to the transaction and in “the five years after the proposed transaction’s consummation.”
Consumer advocacy group Public Citizen joined the Center for Biological Diversity in intervening in the docket.
Tyson Slocum, director of the organization’s energy program, said in a statement to RTO Insider that “FERC takes an absurdly narrow review of whether an acquisition of a franchised utility with hundreds of thousands of captive customers is consistent with the public interest.”
“FERC’s review is largely developed from 2005 and fails to include more recent issues, including the impacts of allowing private equity to control public utilities,” Slocum added. “Luckily, the state of New Mexico is taking a far more responsible approach.”
The PRC has yet to approve the deal, which has garnered “strong community interest.” The commission has held several public hearings to gather feedback on the proposed sale, according to its website.
