New Mexico Gov. Lujan Grisham plans to consult with her successor over utility regulator nominees

A nominating committee on Friday gave New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham two recommendations for candidates to fill an open seat on the state commission that regulates utilities, but she intends to consult with her successor before making a decision.

As Commissioner Gabriel Aguilera’s term expires at the end of the year, the New Mexico Public Regulation Nominating Committee on Friday recommended two candidates to serve six-year terms with an annual salary of $190,000 beginning on Jan. 1: Aguilera himself and Laura Sanchez, the New Mexico Office of the State Auditor’s chief general counsel.

Both Aguilera and Sanchez are Democrats.

Michael Coleman, Lujan Grisham’s communications director, in a statement to Source NM said the governor is not ready to make a decision yet and “would like to consult with the governor-elect.” New Mexicans will elect a new governor in Tuesday’s general election in a race between Democrat Deb Haaland and Republican Gregg Hull.

“She is also making her own considerations,” Coleman said.

Whomever Lujan Grisham selects will need to undergo confirmation in the state Senate. The commission is currently presiding over several controversial, high-profile cases, including a private equity firm’s proposed takeover of PNM, the state’s largest electric provider.

State utility regulators are also overseeing an investigation into whether PNM overbilled customers earlier this year when it relied on estimated energy use amounts, rather than meter readings, to issue residential bills.

Aguilera previously worked for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for 15 years. He sits on the Committee on Regional Electric Power Cooperation and is chair of the Body of State Regulators.

He was the only dissenting PRC member in a July vote to approve the sale of New Mexico Gas Company to an affiliate of a Louisiana-based private equity firm. At the time, he said that he was concerned about the private equity firm’s track record. Aguilera was also one of two commissioners in July to vote that PNM and private equity firm Blackstone Infrastructure violated state law by completing a $400 million stock sale without first obtaining state approval.

At a recent interview with the nominating committee, Aguilera said addressing affordability is the commission’s biggest challenge.

“We’re facing an unprecedented convergence of cost-drivers — the need to replace aging infrastructure, to protect the grid against extreme weather, wildfire mitigation,” he told committee members. “At the same time, many New Mexicans are struggling to pay their bills. Balancing the need to maintain affordable rates and invest in our future requires a commission with technical and economic understanding.”

Before serving in the Office of the State Auditor, Sanchez was executive director of government and public affairs for PNM and an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

If appointed, Sanchez would be the second sitting commissioner to have experience working for PNM. Fellow Democrat Patrick O’Connell, the commission chair, worked as PNM’s director of planning and resources before taking a role at the nonprofit Western Resource Advocates.

At her nominating committee interview, Sanchez said her experience at PNM wouldn’t compromise her ability to regulate the company. Instead, she said that experience gives her valuable insight into its operations.

“The PRC is often an inside baseball process,” she said. “I have experience in this area on multiple sides of regulatory cases and I want to use the skills that I have developed over my career to represent New Mexico on the commission.”