A sitting commissioner and a former PNM executive are the two finalists now sitting on Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's desk for an open seat on the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, a job that pays $190,000 a year and could help decide the fate of a proposed $11.5 billion utility sale. The state's nominating committee narrowed the field from more than two dozen applicants down to Gabriel Aguilera, the current commissioner seeking reappointment, and Laura Sanchez, chief general counsel for State Auditor Joseph Maestas and a former PNM executive.
Committee Picks Two Finalists From a Crowded Field
The committee identified Aguilera and Sanchez as most qualified for the post after interviewing eight candidates, according to abqjournal.com. Lujan Grisham is expected to select one of the two for a six-year term on the three-member commission, subject to confirmation by the state Senate. The governor's office has said she plans to fill the seat before she leaves office, as reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican.
Both candidates are Democrats, and both bring deep ties to New Mexico's energy sector. Aguilera has served on the commission since 2023 after Lujan Grisham appointed him in December 2022, and he previously worked for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as a technical and policy adviser. Sanchez worked at Public Service Company of New Mexico from 2019 to 2024, most recently as executive director of government and public affairs until October 2024, and helped draft the governor's signature climate law, the 2019 Energy Transition Act.
A Vote That Could Decide PNM's $11.5 Billion Sale
Whoever gets the nod will join commissioners Pat O'Connell, a Democrat, and Greg Nibert, a Republican, on a body that regulates electric, gas, water and other utilities statewide. The new appointee may well be a decisive factor in the commission's expected decision on TXNM Energy's proposed $11.5 billion sale to Blackstone, the trend coverage notes. The PRC regulates the state's largest utility, and the outcome of that sale carries implications for ratepayers across New Mexico.
Aguilera has already staked out a position on utility acquisitions. He cast the lone vote against the ultimately successful $1.25 billion sale of New Mexico Gas Co. to Louisiana-based Bernhard Capital Partners, arguing the deal's risks to customers outweighed its benefits. That merger approval is now facing an appeal pending before the New Mexico Supreme Court. Aguilera has said his experience helps him evaluate electrical-grid investments while balancing affordability for New Mexicans, and he has pointed to the need to modernize the grid and build more transmission lines.
Closed-Door Meetings Become a Flashpoint
The nominating committee asked all eight finalists about the commission's regular closed-door deliberations, a practice that has drawn scrutiny. Sanchez has opposed those routine private sessions, saying they conflict with the state's open-meetings law, while Aguilera has said he has reservations about closed-door meetings and has not personally requested them, though he has argued that routine private discussions comply with exemptions built into state law.
The number of closed PRC meetings climbed from 10 in 2021 to 16 in 2022 and to 18 the following year, according to Utility Dive. The commission later voted unanimously to halve its regular open meetings and set aside days for closed-door sessions, and Aguilera has requested a review of that open-meeting schedule. Separately, the commission held at least 13 meetings out of public view in the period examined by the Santa Fe New Mexican, per the agency's own meeting-agenda log.
The debate has drawn outside commentary too. Margaret Caffey-Moquin has said a commission like the PRC does better when it deliberates in public, while Ernie C'de Baca has argued that decisions about closing meetings should be made on a case-by-case basis. C'de Baca was among the candidates the nominating committee considered but did not advance, along with D. Wonda Johnson and Samantha Serna, whose names failed to gain support in motions to add them to the final list.
Candidates' Backgrounds Diverge Sharply
If appointed, Sanchez would become the second PRC member with a high-level PNM position in her background. Beyond her utility work, she has also held roles with the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental nonprofit, the New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce, and several law firms. Sanchez has described her upbringing in Deming alongside her environmental advocacy work and legal representation of varied clients, and has said the commission has substantial effects on New Mexicans' daily lives, cost of living, resources and access to services.
The commission itself has changed dramatically in recent years. New Mexico's PRC shifted from a five-member elected panel to a three-member appointed body in 2023, with a new governor-appointed member joining every two years. Two years before this selection, the nominating committee submitted four names to the governor under that same process, underscoring how routine turnover on the commission has become even as the stakes attached to each seat keep rising.
