By NICHOLAS GILMORE
The Santa Fe New Mexican
State senators heaped praise upon former legislator Greg Nibert before voting Wednesday afternoon to confirm his appointment to the state Public Regulation Commission.
“He’s smart, he’s kind, he’s thoughtful,” Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, said on the Senate floor. “He thinks deeply, and he gives very thoughtful answers to your questions.”
“We also all agreed that the PRC really needed an attorney, and we were very happy that they’re getting an attorney that’s had experience in both the House and the Senate,” she continued.
Nibert, a Republican from Roswell, has begun serving a six-year term on the commission, after having been appointed to the role by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on New Year’s Day. He replaced former Commissioner James Ellison, who served for two years. Under state law, the seat could not be filled by a Democrat, since the other two commissioners are Democrats.
The Senate debate lasted less than 15 minutes, with legislators trading compliments for Nibert before voting to approve his appointment.
The potential for a conflict of interest related to Nibert’s longtime position as a partner in the Roswell-based law firm Hinkle Shanor LLP was raised by Sen. Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque, in a meeting of the Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday morning.
“I have heard concerns about conflicts of interest,” Duhigg said. “I don’t think you have a conflict of interest, but I’d like the public to hear your response to those concerns.”
Hinkle Shanor represents the electric utility Southwestern Public Service Co. in numerous regulatory proceedings before the commission, including a pending case to decide regulations for the statewide community solar program. The firm also represents the Louisiana-based private equity firm Bernhardt Capital Partners in its bid to buy the state’s largest gas utility, New Mexico Gas Co.
Nibert acknowledged he was a partner at the firm for more than 35 years — until December — and he said he would evaluate potential conflicts of interest on a case-by-case basis.
“Whether it’s a Hinkle law firm lawyer or somebody else, you have to look at all of those: Do I have a relationship with a party that would render me unable to analyze and view that evidence as a judge? I think, as judges, you have to go through that exercise each and every month. … I’m prepared to do that.”
During his first public meeting as a commissioner earlier this month, the commission voted on the community solar case, in which Southwestern Public Service Co. is represented by Nibert’s former partner Dana Hardy of Hinkle Shanor.
Nibert said Hardy “is someone who I really don’t have a personal relationship with.” He said if Hinkle Shanor attorneys from the Roswell office — as opposed to the firm’s Santa Fe office — represented cases before the commission, he would likely recuse himself, “because I have a long, deep-seated relationship with those individuals.”
Sen. Liz Stefanics, D-Cerrillos, asked Nibert during the committee meeting what he saw as the commission’s role regarding the Energy Transition Act, a law requiring decarbonization of the state’s biggest electric utilities that Nibert opposed when it passed in 2019.
“The Energy Transition Act is the law, and it’s the obligation of the Public Regulation Commission to enforce and implement that law, and so our role is to see what the public policy is as reflected in the law and to enforce it to the fullest extent, to implement the provisions that you’ve given us some discretion to implement, and to then report back,” Nibert said.
Nibert did not receive any votes against his confirmation in either the Senate Rules Committee or the full Senate, although Sen. Shannon Pinto, D-Tohatchi, noted on the floor there have been Native Americans vying for roles on the commission.
“I do hope we see some diversity on this commission very soon,” she said.
