Addressing business leaders, TXNM CEO calls for ‘thinking differently’ amid $11.5 billion Blackstone deal

In order to keep up with an evolving energy landscape and increasing power demands, TXNM Energy Inc. President and CEO Don Tarry believes in “thinking differently.”

“We have to think, not what it’s like today or what it’s been in the past, but we have to look forward to what we expect in the future,” Tarry said during a Wednesday Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce event. “What we really want to happen in the future we have to plan for, which requires us to act differently in how we design systems, act differently in how we spend the money.”

Tarry’s address comes on the heels of TXNM, Public Service Company of New Mexico’s parent company, filing its proposed $11.5 billion sale to Blackstone Infrastructure on Monday with state and federal regulators. If completed, the deal would take one of New Mexico’s only publicly traded companies private.

TXNM has so far filed its acquisition agreement with the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The sale will also require approval from the Federal Communications Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Justice, TXNM officials said. The companies plan to close the transaction in the second half of 2026.

TXNM, then called PNM Resources, attempted to merge with Avangrid nearly five years ago in a $4.3 billion deal, but was ultimately rejected by the state Public Regulation Commission.

Tarry’s comments to business leaders are some of his first since the latest proposed acquisition was announced, and reflect what the energy company says it is looking to do differently: engage with the community and stakeholders in a more transparent process.

Tarry compared PNM’s areas of focus — reliability, affordability and its environmental footprint — to a “three-legged stool.”

“What happens if you take one leg out of a three-legged stool? I fall off,” Tarry said. “Each one of these three legs is absolutely critical, and has to be looked at (through) a lens of how it supports the customer.”

Tarry said the acquisition will help secure financial support for the utility over the next several years for grid modernization and system infrastructure. Though considered a large utility in New Mexico, he said PNM is small in comparison to others across the country.

Tarry acknowledged that people will “hear a lot of different things” about Blackstone Infrastructure and the acquisition. But he encouraged anyone with questions to reach out. He said the private equity firm wants to invest in New Mexico, its energy transition and growing the economy.

“They’re patient capital; they’re looking longer term,” Tarry said. “They have no time period to ever sell the assets in their portfolio. It’s an open-ended portfolio, so it provides a lot of benefits.”

Blackstone has committed to holding TXNM for at least 10 years, according to the filing.

The proposed transaction outlined various incentives for customers, including a $105 million rate credit over four years that would lower the average residential customer bill by 3.5%.

Additionally, Blackstone would put $10 million over 10 years into PNM’s Good Neighbor Fund, $35 million toward economic development and building the necessary workforce, and invest $25 million into innovative or emerging technologies supporting New Mexico’s Energy Transition Act.

TXNM subsidiaries, including PNM and Texas-New Mexico Power Co., a utility serving certain regions across Texas, would remain locally managed and operated. Jobs, wages, benefits and union contracts are protected under the acquisition, the companies said.

“The local presence won’t change; the headquarters won’t change; the corporate giving won’t change; our commitment to the community won’t change,” Tarry said. “I will tell you, a lot of it’s going to be enhanced as we go forward.”