Green-energy giant AVANGRID to acquire New Mexico’s PNM Resources
AVANGRID, Inc., a nationwide provider of wind and solar power, will acquire PNM Resources and its two regulated utility companies operating in New Mexico and Texas, in a cash transaction valued at $8.3 billion, it was announced Oct. 21.
The buyout will require the approval of PNM’s stockholders as well as the green light from a collection of state and federal regulators over the next 12 months. Once approved, the acquisition will significantly expand Oregon-based AVANGRID’s presence in the southwestern United States and increase its portfolio of regulated utilities to 10 companies operating in six states. AVANGRID is the nation’s third-largest renewables company with operations in 24 states and has 1,900 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy assets in New Mexico and Texas.
“This merger between AVANGRID and PNM Resources is a strategic fit and helps us further our growth in both clean energy distribution and transmission,” AVANGRID CEO Dennis Arriola said in a written statement.
PNM Resources is the parent company of Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) and Texas-New Mexico Power Company. The companies have a combined generation capacity of approximately 2,811 megawatts (MW) and serve around 790,000 residential and business customers in the two states.
By acquiring Albuquerque-based PNM Resources, AVANGRID will expand its renewables portfolio in New Mexico and Texas. Currently, AVANGRID operates 1.5 gigawatts of wind power in New Mexico and Texas along with 200 MW of wind and solar capacity in neighboring Arizona. The deal also includes a provision to continue PNM’s plan to shut down the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station in 2022 and to exit its 200-MW stake in the Four Corners coal plant when its supply agreements expire in 2031.
“Our combined companies provide greater opportunities to invest in the infrastructure and new technologies that will help us navigate our transition to clean energy,” said Patricia K. Vincent-Collawn, chairman, president and CEO of PNM Resources.
AVANGRID, which also has operations in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine, will total U.S renewable assets of 7.4 GW after the transaction and serve around 4 million electric and natural gas utility customers with a rate base of approximately $14 billion. The company is part of Spain’s IBERDROLA Group, which has additional renewable energy assets in Europe and Latin America.
