Exclusive: Senate Democrat penned op-ed in support of a merger, while being funded by both sides of it
A Senate Democrat wrote an op-ed praising a “historic” clean energy merger, without disclosing that parties on both sides of the merger bankrolled him for years.
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D., N.M.) wrote in the Santa Fe New Mexican in 2021 that he “hope[s] they [the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission] will vote to approve [the] merger” between Avangrid and PNM Resources.
“This merger will accelerate our decarbonization, directly and financially benefit PNM customers, create new jobs in New Mexico and grow our economy,” Heinrich wrote.
Heinrich has in the past accepted tens of thousands of dollars from employees and PACs of both Avangrid and PNM Resources. Prior to publishing his op-ed, Heinrich received thousands of dollars from the Avangrid Political Action Committee, which is still donating to the Senator since his failed advocacy for the merger, according to campaign finance records. Last year, employees of Avangrid gave Heinrich over $13,000 on a single day, according to campaign finance records.
Employees of PNM have also donated almost $30,000 to Heinrich, dating back years before the proposed merger, and continuing through his current campaign, according to campaign finance records.
Shortly after Heinrich’s op-ed, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) rejected the merger unanimously, and in January 2024, Avangrid terminated all plans to acquire PNM resources, calling Heinrich’s sway in his state into question.
