PNM Seeks $595 Million Line for State Renewables

Contractors and developers in New Mexico's renewable and storage sector should watch the commission's ruling on this transmission path.

Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Utilities

Isometric editorial illustration of a row of steel lattice transmission towers receding across a flat desert plain under mesas, evoking New Mexico grid buildout. — PNM has asked New Mexico regulators to approve a $595 million, 345 kV transmission line that would carry new wind, solar and battery capacity to the grid. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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PNM has filed with the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission for a certificate of convenience and necessity for a new 345 kV transmission line, with an estimated cost of $595 million. The filing is one of two major transmission requests before the commission, alongside a separate $247 million line that is still pending.

Why it matters

The filing ties the line to resources identified in PNM's 2029 to 2032 resource portfolio application, which seeks approval for 800 megawatts of wind, 240 megawatts of solar and 610 megawatts of battery storage. Utility-scale transmission upgrades of this kind are how new generation reaches load, so the regulatory outcome shapes which generation projects and contractors have a path forward in the state.

The two pending transmission projects total $842 million, with the new 345 kV line accounting for $595 million of that figure. The resource application behind them seeks 1,650 megawatts of combined wind, solar and battery storage capacity.

The players

PNM (Public Service Company of New Mexico)

New Mexico's largest electric utility, serving retail customers across the state and operating as a subsidiary of TXNM Energy.

New Mexico Public Regulation Commission

The state body that regulates investor-owned utilities, approving transmission and generation projects and setting rates for customers.

TXNM Energy

The parent holding company of PNM, which disclosed the October 30 filing in its third quarter results announcement.

The details

A certificate of convenience and necessity is the approval a utility must obtain before building a major facility, so the commission's decision determines whether construction can proceed. The new line would include station expansions, a new right of way and reconstruction of part of an existing 115 kV line, and it is designed to strengthen PNM's east-to-west transmission system. Separately, the Rio Puerco project includes a new 345/115 kV Prosperity station and requests service no later than the first quarter of 2029.

February 25, 2026: PNM applied for the Rio Puerco to Pajarito to Prosperity line.
May 29, 2026: PNM filed its 2029 to 2032 resource portfolio application.
September 1, 2026: PNM filed its 2026 integrated resource plan.
October 1, 2026: PNM filed its distribution system plan.
October 30, 2026: PNM filed the $595 million transmission line certificate request.

Market Landscape

The filing follows the resource portfolio application through the commission's certificate process, which is the route utilities in New Mexico use to connect new wind, solar and storage to customers. The merger of parent company TXNM with Blackstone Infrastructure, now expected to close in the first half of 2027, adds a financing and ownership backdrop to these projects.

Contractors, equipment suppliers and developers working on wind, solar and storage projects in New Mexico should track whether the commission approves the transmission path that connects those resources. Businesses that depend on utility interconnection timelines should factor the 2029 service target for the Rio Puerco project into their planning, and consult qualified counsel on any contract terms tied to these approvals.

The takeaway

The key operating signal is that transmission capacity, not generation alone, is now the gating factor for new renewable and storage projects in the Albuquerque area. Operators should watch the commission's rulings on both pending transmission requests and the Blackstone merger hearings in early 2027, since those decisions set the timing for regional projects.

What happens next

Evidentiary hearings in the Blackstone merger are scheduled for January 19 to February 1, 2027, and the commission's evidentiary hearing for docket 26-00041 is set for August 26.