In May 2024, Blackstone Infrastructure announced an agreement to acquire TXNM Energy, the parent company of Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM), in an $11.5 billion deal. If approved by regulators, this acquisition would represent one of the largest private equity takeovers of a major U.S. regulated utility.
Blackstone says this move is motivated by long-term demand growth, infrastructure needs, and the transition to cleaner, carbon-free energy – commitments that plan to ensure stability, reliability, and investment in New Mexico’s energy grid. But as a solar company committed to the communities we serve, we believe this merger raises serious questions for New Mexico ratepayers and underscores why now is a crucial time to consider going solar.
Who Is Blackstone? What Do They Do?
Blackstone is a private equity firm and one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers. Its infrastructure arm invests broadly, including in energy, transportation, water/waste, and digital infrastructure. Their portfolio is diverse: for example, in December 2023, Blackstone acquired Power Grid Components, Inc. (PGC), a major supplier of critical equipment for electrical substations – part of the backbone of our nation’s grid.
Blackstone also invests in digital energy infrastructure, and more broadly, sees utility companies as attractive long-term investments because of their stable, regulated returns. Historically, their holdings have included real estate (both single-family housing and rentals), debt and equity investments, infrastructure, and “real assets”, but the utility acquisition trend shows their increasing interest in owning the physical infrastructure that powers our everyday lives.
In summary, Blackstone isn’t just a real estate investor; they’re positioning themselves as an infrastructure owner, including utilities, grid components, and anything tied to increasing electricity demand.
Why Are Private Equity Firms Like Blackstone Buying Utilities?
Stable, Regulated Returns, + Inflation Protection
Regulated utilities, especially vertically integrated ones delivering power to retail customers, offer stable, predictable revenue streams. With return-on-equity and rate-based regulation, there’s often less volatility than in many other industries. For investment firms seeking long-duration, inflation-adjusted cash flows, utilities are attractive.
Capital for Grid Modernization & Energy Transition
The energy grid nationwide is undergoing massive transformation: retiring old coal plants, adding renewables and battery storage, upgrading transmission and distribution, hardening for reliability, and accommodating increasing demand. Many utilities, especially smaller ones, lack the capital to fund these investments alone. As one utility representative put it in regulatory filings, they “do not have the size or market presence to take full advantage of opportunities…without a partner like Blackstone.”
Rising Electricity Demand & Electrification Trends
As demand for electricity climbs, there is growing pressure on utilities to invest in generation, transmission, and distribution capacity. The long-term outlook for stable demand makes these utilities attractive investments. That said, owning a utility means owning a business that’s likely to grow for decades, regardless of short-term market swings.
Blackstone’s Push Into Owning Utilities to Power Datacenters
Beyond infrastructure and real estate, Blackstone is also heavily invested in large-scale datacenters; facilities that consume enormous amounts of electricity and are driving some of the fastest load growth in the country. Their strategy increasingly ties together ownership of energy-intensive assets (such as ai/datacenter infrastructure) with ownership of the utilities responsible for delivering the power those facilities require.
This matters because datacenters typically need significant grid upgrades: new substations, high-capacity feeders, transmission upgrades, and reliability hardening. These are expensive, long-lived investments, and under traditional utility regulation, the cost of those upgrades is not paid by the datacenters themselves. Instead, they are typically added to the utility’s rate base, meaning ratepayers, not the datacenter companies, pay for the infrastructure through higher monthly electric bills.
Across the U.S., this pattern is emerging everywhere datacenter clusters grow: utilities propose massive capital projects to meet new industrial-scale demand, then recover those costs through residential and small business rates. Private equity firms like Blackstone, which may own both the datacenters creating the new demand and the utility serving them, could stand to benefit twice:
- First, from the growth and profitability of the datacenters.
- Second, from the regulated returns on the utility’s capital investments, costs largely carried by everyday ratepayers.
Why This Matters for New Mexico: Rising Costs & Growing Demand
For New Mexico, this means that if energy-hungry datacenters begin expanding in the region, the infrastructure needed to power those facilities may be built by a Blackstone-owned PNM and paid for by New Mexicans through increasing electric bills.
Even without the Blackstone acquisition, utility rates in New Mexico have been trending upward. In 2024, New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (NMPRC) approved a base rate change for PNM that increased its authorized rate base and return on equity after years of relatively stable rates. Most recently, in 2025, NMPRC approved a stipulation that will raise utility bills in two phases, which will lead to a roughly 20% increase in utility costs for most ratepayers.
PNM (and, potentially soon, Blackstone-backed TXNM Energy) says these increases are needed for grid reliability upgrades, integration of renewables and battery storage, wildfire mitigation, and cybersecurity, among other needs. At the same time, demand in New Mexico is growing fast: PNM recently received approval to add 410 megawatts of solar + battery storage capacity by 2026 to keep up with rising peak demand.
This is the kind of environment in which a firm like Blackstone sees long-term value: high demand, necessary operational investments, and regulated returns.
Net Metering: What’s at Stake (and What Other States Are Doing)
An important question for solar stewards and prospective solar adopters: with Blackstone acquiring a major utility, what could happen to net metering policies and benefits, especially 1:1 net metering?
Nationwide, there is a clear trend that indicates many states are shifting away from 1:1 net metering. Here are some relevant precedents:
- In California Public Utilities Commission’s realm, when the state phased out its older net metering models, existing customers were protected (what’s referred to as “grandfathered”) for 20 years from their system’s interconnection date.
- In Arkansas’ Public Service Commission, under its updated net metering rules, legacy customers, those with interconnection agreements filed before a certain cutoff date, are grandfathered and retain full retail credit for up to 20 years.
- In Illinois Commerce Commission territory, starting January 1, 2025, new solar customers were moved to a new program (“Smart Solar Billing”) that limits export credits to the “supply” portion of the bill rather than full 1:1, though customers enrolled before the deadline are grandfathered under the old net metering rules.
These are a few examples that show how quickly net metering rules can change, and how important it is for solar customers to act early to lock in more favorable terms, which are typically grandfathered for at least 20 years.
New Mexico Today: Regulation, Net Metering, and What Could Change
In New Mexico, the NMPRC regulates retail utility rates for PNM. Even after a Blackstone acquisition, PNM would remain under NMPRC jurisdiction; they have stated that they will continue to be regulated by the same commission.
PNM itself has argued that rate increases are needed to fund grid upgrades, energy storage, and retirements of older assets (like coal plants), while transitioning toward carbon-free power. What remains uncertain, but critical, is how any future change in corporate ownership might influence PNM’s stance toward net metering and electricity rates in general. Given that broader net-billing/retirement of net metering is already happening elsewhere, New Mexico could follow, especially if such changes align with the financial interests of a private-equity owner.
There has yet to be a public announcement indicating Blackstone plans to change net metering rules, but given national patterns, this is exactly the kind of scenario solar advocates need to watch closely.
Why This Matters for Solar-Minded New Mexicans
- Electricity rates are already increasing. With the 2025 PRC-approved increase for PNM, average residential bills will go up by roughly 20% over the next one to two years.
- Demand on the grid is rising fast. PNM plans to add hundreds of megawatts of solar + storage by 2026 to meet that growing demand, but demand continues to outpace supply as new energy-heavy datacenters and electrification shifts are implemented.
- Net metering policies are under pressure nationwide. As outlined here, states from California to Illinois to Arkansas are shifting net metering rules. While many grandfathered existing solar panel customers for 20 years, the changes severely reduced the value for future solar adopters.
- With a private-equity utility owner, the incentives shift. A profit-motivated buyer may be more likely to support changes that maximize profit and revenue per kilowatt-hour (kWh) delivered – which could include reducing or eliminating 1:1 net metering solar incentives or restricting the value of solar, meaning customers would receive less credit for the clean energy they send back to the grid.
Because of all of this, if you don’t yet have solar, now may be a critical moment to go solar while net-metering is still favorable and to lock in lower electricity costs. If you already have solar, remain vigilant: stay informed about any regulatory changes, and consider joining local advocacy or comment efforts if net-metering changes are proposed. Organizations like New Energy Economy remain dialed in to the goings-on surrounding Blackstone. You can receive action alerts by signing up for their newsletter.
What We at Positive Energy Solar Recommend
- If you’ve been thinking about solar – don’t wait. The window for favorable net-metering may narrow quickly, especially given broader national trends and this Blackstone acquisition.
- If you already own solar – stay engaged. Watch for NMPRC dockets, public comment opportunities, and industry changes. Encourage family and friends to support net-metering protections.
- Get informed & speak up. As ratepayers, New Mexicans have a voice. Public comment periods, regulatory hearings, and grassroots solar-advocacy groups are all ways to influence the outcome.
In Conclusion…
The proposed Blackstone – TXNM/PNM merger represents more than just a corporate transaction. It signals a shift in who owns the infrastructure that powers our homes and communities. With rising electrical demand, growing electrical costs, and a nationwide move away from 1:1 net-metering, now is a pivotal moment for solar in New Mexico.
At Positive Energy Solar, we believe in a future where clean energy, fairness, and local control matter. We urge community members, whether you already have solar or are considering going solar, to stay alert, get involved, and act now to lock in the benefits while they still exist.
