PNM, El Paso Electric among dozens of utilities in western transmission organization

The Public Service Company of New Mexico hopes its participation in a newly launched regional power grid organization will help make utility bills cheaper.

The Western Transmission Consortium, or TWTC, announced its official launch Tuesday, aiming to create a more resilient and coordinated grid across the West. The consortium represents 84 utilities across 11 western states, according to a news release.

PNM’s parent company TXNM Energy, formerly known as PNM Resources, is among the members, as is El Paso Electric, which serves some areas in southern New Mexico, including Las Cruces. A few other community-owned utilities in the state are part of the consortium as well, like the Los Alamos County and the City of Gallup.

Don Tarry, president and CEO of PNM, said in a statement to the Journal that PNM customers are “uniquely poised to benefit from new transmission lines that deliver increased reliability, resilience and lower the cost of energy.”

“New transmission is also the key to unlocking future economic development opportunities in New Mexico,” he added.

Utility experts hope regional projects like this will help stabilize issues that have arisen because of New Mexico’s antiquated power grid, especially in a time where the demand for energy is only growing.

TWTC is working on nine projects covering 1,100 miles across five southwestern states. Its website promises more details to come on the projects.

The end goal is to develop interregional or interjurisdictional transmission infrastructure in the West, according to TWTC’s website.

Consortium Board President Paul Kjellander described the nonprofit group — which has been in a development stage since 2023 — as groundbreaking and transformative.

“I have been involved with energy policy work in the West for 30 years, and TWTC is perhaps the most significant policy and operational advancement towards building transmission in the West,” Kjellander said in the news release.