New Mexico's natural gas shortage and lack of heat to upwards of 32,000 New Mexicans the past few days is front page news in New Mexico and everywhere else online. Here is an important link to New Mexico Gas Company customers for emergency updates. The recent artic cold delivered by nature to the Southwest exposed what appears to be a lack of preparation, common sense and certainly more exposure about who and what controls the state's public utility.
Nearly two years ago, PNM sold New Mexico Gas to the son of the former chairman of the board of PNM for $630,000,000 as reported in today's Santa Fe New Mexican. It appears the majority of New Mexicans were not aware their natural gas delivery was in the hands of Continental Energy Systems, LLC, more of a holding company than an old fashioned utility company. The current CEO, George A. Schreiber Jr was former Chairman of the Board of Credit Suisse First Boston Global Energy, an energy investment company.
In the same way, real estate has been impacted by the shift in control by the global financial markets, it appears there is a similar trend in our energy resources. Today, many New Mexicans do not have heat. It appears the compressors which move the natural gas through the pipelines from storage facilities in Texas were impacted with brownouts created by excess demand. However, this is more than a demand and supply issue. It is about what appears to be a lack of investment in the infrastructure. Hopefully, as this issue is resolved and thoroughly investigated, New Mexico Gas, now an energy investment company will make all the appropriate capital investments required for backup electrical generators and anything else required which could have possibly prevented this scenario from happening in New Mexico.
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