Disappointing end to merger and its agreed-upon benefits to customers and communities in New Mexico 
 
(Albuquerque, NM) – PNM received notice from Avangrid on December 31, 2023, that it was terminating the merger agreement with PNM's parent company, PNM Resources.  

The companies announced their agreement to merge in October 2020 and presented the benefits of the merger, including customer rate credits, in their request for approval from the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (NMPRC). Over the course of the regulatory process in 2021, the companies reached agreements with 14 intervening parties representing varying interests for additional customer and community benefits totaling over $300 million to New Mexico in the form of customer rate credits, forgiveness of past-due bills, new job commitments, economic development funds, scholarship and apprenticeship training programs, low-income energy efficiency programs and more. 

"We are greatly disappointed with Avangrid's decision to terminate the merger agreement and its proposed benefits to our customers and communities," said Pat Vincent-Collawn, PNM Resources Chairman and CEO. "We had been looking forward to providing customers with the immediate benefits in our agreement and also the longer-term benefits of being part of a larger-scale entity with ties to global innovation and experience in the clean energy transition. As a standalone company, we will continue our work of meeting the future energy needs of our customers and communities with affordable and reliable energy." 

The companies had appealed the prior NMPRC's 2021 rejection of the agreement to the New Mexico Supreme Court and had extended the terms of the merger agreement multiple times through 2022 and 2023 while a decision was pending.  

The most recent extension carried an expiration date of December 31, 2023. PNM Resources had proposed a further extension of the agreement while the New Mexico Supreme Court decision remained pending. Avangrid instead chose to terminate the agreement and cancel its commitment of benefits to PNM customers, employees and communities.