LOCAL COLUMN
OPINION: Why the Navajo Nation supports the PNM-Blackstone merger
My name is Buu Nygren, and I serve as president of the Navajo Nation.
The Navajo Nation supports approval of the proposed acquisition of Public Service Company of New Mexico and its parent company, TXNM Energy, by the Blackstone Infrastructure Fund. We believe this transaction strengthens PNM鈥檚 ability to serve New Mexico communities while remaining accountable to state regulators and local leadership. Importantly, PNM will continue to operate and remain headquartered in New Mexico, retain its local workforce and remain under the Public Regulation Commission鈥檚 authority.
For generations, the Navajo Nation has played a critical role in powering the Southwest. Major PNM transmission lines cross Navajo Nation lands and connect into the Four Corners energy system, supporting local, state and regional reliability. Our people and our local chapter communities have hosted and supported this infrastructure for generations, and we continue to do so today.
As a nation, we still face chronic underinvestment in energy infrastructure with 15,000 Navajo families living without electricity and water. In light of these challenges, PNM has been an excellent partner, continually sending crews to participate in the Light Up Navajo Project, a partnership with Navajo Tribal Utility Authority. NTUA allows utility companies throughout the country to send crews to the Navajo Nation to help connect Navajo homes to electricity for the first time.
PNM also provides key scholarship investments for Navajo students and community collaboration with our local chapter communities. If approved, Blackstone has committed to continuing this focus on education and workforce development. Our young people want to live, work and raise their families here in New Mexico. A strong, reliable energy system is essential to power that future.
I expect any new owner of critical energy assets to demonstrate a clear continued commitment to helping to correct these long鈥憇tanding inequities as PNM has demonstrated.
I view the Blackstone acquisition as a positive step forward because it brings long-term capital to a utility that must continue investing in grid reliability, transmission infrastructure and workforce readiness.
This approach aligns with the needs of transition-impacted regions like the Four Corners. As the energy sector evolves, I want the Four Corners region to have the opportunity to be active participants in new and diversified energy development.
The Navajo Nation approaches energy decisions with a focus on sovereignty, partnership and responsibility to future generations. For these reasons, I respectfully urge the PRC to approve the Blackstone Infrastructure Fund acquisition.
Buu Nygren is the president of the Navajo Nation.