Take Action This Week: Help Us Stop a Private Equity Utility Buyout & Hold Polluters Accountable
- zoeyyucraft
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Right now, private equity is trying to buy out our utilities while our communities are facing the impacts of pollution from over 1,700 abandoned oil and gas wells.
This week, we have two important opportunities to fight back, demand accountability, and build a just transition led by our communities – and we need your help to make sure our voices are heard.
OUR UTILITIES ARE NOT FOR SALE! TELL THE PRC WE OPPOSE THE PRIVATE EQUITY BUYOUT OF A STATE GAS COMPANY
TOMORROW, October 28th from 4:00 pm-7:00 pm, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) will hear public comment on the private equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners' (BCP) plan to buy out New Mexico Gas Company for $1.25 billion.
This private equity takeover would put a utility responsible for providing low-cost, reliable service to over 550,000 New Mexicans in the hands of a private equity management firm with little experience operating utilities. YUCCA, our allies, and and communities across New Mexico have spent years fighting for an energy democracy that is controlled by the people, not corporations and billionaires. We won't stand by while corporate executives attempt to buy out our future, and we need your help to send a clear message to the PRC that our utilities are NOT for sale.
Sign the petition to block the BCP buyout here, and join us in person TOMORROW at the NM 811 Building at 1021 Eubank Blvd NE, Albuquerque NM 87112 to deliver your public comment and make your voice heard.
If you can't attend, you can also submit your public comment in advance by emailing public.comment@prc.nm.gov with the subject line "Public Comment on 24-00266-UT" or calling (505) 490-4910 to leave a message. The PRC also holds regular open meetings in Santa Fe and online – including one this Thursday, October 30th – and each one is another opportunity to tell the PRC why private equity needs to keep its hands off of our utilities.
HOLD OIL AND GAS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR MESS! URGE THE OIL CONSERVATION COMMISSION TO CREATE STRONGER LAWS & ENFORCEMENT TO PREVENT MORE ABANDONED OIL AND GAS WELLS
Earlier this month, the New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission also began hearings to address the issue of abandoned oil and gas wells in the state – and now, we have an important opportunity to advance a just transition that could include training a workforce to clean up and remediate abandoned well sites.
New Mexico has more than 60,000 oil and gas wells that will eventually need to be plugged, and there are at least 1,700 wells that have already been fully abandoned, though this number is likely much higher. The New Mexico Oil Conservation Division has already spent $46.4 million between 2019-2024 to plug and reclaim 360 wells and associated infrastructure (New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee) that represent only a fraction of the massive cleanup still ahead.
Industry needs to be held accountable for the crisis they've created – from the mind-boggling amount of wells they've drilled, abandoned, and left to pollute our communities to the millions of dollars in cleanup costs. If we don't act now, it's our generation who will be left to foot the bill – and live with the consequences. That's why we support the proposed amendments brought forward by the Western Environmental Law Center and frontline Diné and San Juan Basin communities, which would strengthen regulation and hold the oil and gas industry accountable for the harm they've caused.
Help us hold industry accountable and demand regulations that make polluters pay by submitting a public comment to the New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission in Case Number 24683:
You can provide public comment in-person every weekday from now through November 7, 2025 between 9:00 am-5:00 pm at Pecos Hall on the first floor of the Wendell Chino Building (1220 S. St. Francis Dr., Santa Fe, NM 87505).
If you're unable to join us in person, you can also join the meeting online to provide public comment by clicking the link here to join remotely, emailing your comment to occ.hearings@emnrd.nm.gov, or sending it via mail to Sheila Apodaca, Commission Clerk, Wendell Chino Building, 1220 S. St. Francis Dr, Santa Fe, NM 87505.
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