Four names sent to governor for PRC spot
Nov. 7—A nominating committee tasked with vetting candidates for an upcoming opening on the Public Regulation Commission has sent four names to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, including the incumbent.
James Ellison, who is seeking reappointment to the PRC, advanced Thursday along with Republican state Sen. Greg Nibert; Debra Hicks and Blessing Chukwu. Hicks owns an engineering firm in Hobbs, and Chukwu is a retired staff member of the Arizona Corporation Commission.
The appointee's six-year term will start in January with a $190,000 annual salary.
Ellison's first term on the commission was set at two years per a constitutional amendment that allowed for staggered terms for appointed commissioners.
The committee's seven members started with dozens of applicants, narrowing the pool over several meetings in recent months. Over two days in late October, the committee interviewed each of the candidates. On Thursday, each nominee was voted on individually. Ellison and Nibert were approved unanimously.
Committee member Cydney Beadles — an attorney and program director for the nonprofit group Western Resource Advocates — put forth Ellison's nomination first. She pointed to the sitting commissioner's work experience at Sandia National Laboratories as well as prior work related to coal, nuclear and gas energy.
"His working familiarity with advanced technologies is critical to maintaining reliability as New Mexico's grid moves into the future," Beadles said. "His work on the commission also demonstrates that he watches the impact on ratepayers of utilities' projects and programs, realizing you shouldn't approve everything all at once but must prioritize."
Another committee member, Denise Ramonas, noted Ellison's role "spearheading" the commission's recent rulemaking that established requirements for the state's biggest utilities to turn over annual reports on system reliability, including data on power outages and grid upgrades.
The nomination of Nibert, R-Roswell, was put forth by committee member and former Republican state Rep. Alonzo Baldonado, who noted Nibert's 10 years in the Legislature and experience as an oil and gas attorney with the firm Hinkle Shanor LLP.
Hicks was approved for nomination by a 4-3 vote, with Baldanado, Ramonas and Chair Rikki Seguin casting "no" votes. Chukwu received "no" votes from both Baldanado and Ramonas.
The votes against Hicks and Chukwu came in a second round of voting, after a few members had second thoughts about the candidates.
"Our job was to really give to the governor top-tier candidates, and I wouldn't consider [Hicks and Chukwu] top-tier candidates," Ramonas said, requesting to change her "yes" votes for both.
The governor must appoint a non-Democrat to the commission, given the requirement in state law for no more than two of its three members to belong to a certain political party. Ellison and Chukwu are both registered as independents, and Nibert and Hicks are both Republicans.
The salary for each commissioner, which was set at $190,000 by the Governor's Office when current commissioners took their seats in January 2023, will remain the same for the next term, the agency's chief of staff Cholla Khoury said.
The nominating committee has solicited input from the public related to the nomination process, but — with the exception of a few environmental advocates — New Mexicans have not weighed in during public comment opportunities in the handful of committee meetings in recent months.
