New Mexico regulators refute attorney general’s claims

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico utility regulators are refuting allegations by Attorney General Hector Balderas that they aren’t pursuing the public interest. In a letter to Balderas, the Public Regulation Commission emphasized the need for teamwork but also corrected what it contends are inaccurate notions by the attorney general’s office. Relations between Balderas and the commission have been strained over a rejected merger involving the state’s largest electric provider and concerns about possible summer blackouts. Regulators recently cleared the way for Public Service Co. of New Mexico to extend operations of a unit at the coal-fired San Juan power plant in hopes of meeting peak summer demands.