For over 100 years, PNM has been committed to strengthening the communities we serve by making a difference in the lives of our customers, including our own employees that live, work and raise their families here. At the core of this commitment is sustainability. Whether it’s helping our customers lower their monthly energy costs, partnering with the Navajo Nation in the Workforce Training Initiative or assisting Mayor Keller in adding 25 megawatts of solar to the Albuquerque grid, sustainability is at the center.
We invite you to take a journey with us through of our ever-unfolding Sustainability Story.
“The future is changing fast. Here at PNM, we are proud of how far we’ve come. Yet, we know there is still much to do. It is our promise to you that we will continue to strive to improve, to deliver safe, reliable, affordable and environmentally responsible energy, and to support communities across New Mexico for generations to come. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you.” Pat Vincent-Collawn, Chairman, President and CEO, PNM Resources, Inc.
Helping customers save money and become more energy-wise is an important part of what we do. Since 2007, PNM energy efficiency programs have provided more than $80 million in customer rebates and helped save almost 3.2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity – enough to power approximately 470,090 homes for a year. These programs have kept an estimated 2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide out of the air and saved 1.1 billion gallons of water. PNM can help you save money and energy with a variety of rebates, discounts and energy-saving tips.
Online Home Energy Analyzer
Find out how efficient your home is with specific recommendations that make sense for you and your home. This online analysis tool makes it easy (and fun!) to understand how your home uses electricity and also provides savings tips and rebates. Learn more
PNM Home Energy Checkup
You can receive a customized report on your home's energy performance and learn ways to become energy smart, improve your family's comfort and lower your monthly energy costs. For our low-income customers, you may qualify for a free appointment and a free refrigerator. Learn more
Refrigerator Recycling
Residential and business customers can receive $50 for recycling their old refrigerator or freezer. We haul it away for free and you save energy and money. Learn more
Cooling and Heat Pump Rebates
The PNM Cooling Rebate program reduces the cost for residential customers to purchase and install certain energy-efficient cooling equipment in their homes. There are two main ways to cool your home, evaporative cooling and refrigerated air conditioning. Both of these options include several technologies that qualify for a rebate. Learn more
Pool Pump Rebates
The PNM Pool Pump Rebate Program provides residential customers with a $300 rebate for purchasing and installing an ENERGY STAR-qualified variable speed pool pump. An ENERGY STAR pool pump can run at different speeds and be programmed to match the pool operation with the appropriate pool pump speed. The energy saved is considerable. Reducing pump speed by one-half allows the pump to use just one-eighth as much energy. Learn more
Home Lighting Discount
Replacing traditional incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient light emitting diode (LED) is a simple way to save energy in your home daily without having to spend a lot of money. PNM offers in-store discounts at a variety of stores around the state, and via an online store as well. Learn more
PNM Power Saver
If you have refrigerated central air conditioning or a heat pump, you can reduce electric demand while helping protect the environment. Participants receive a $25 check for enrolling and a $25 check at the end of the season for participating. The program is open to residential and business customers. Learn more
PNM Home Works for Students
Created just for fifth graders and high school students, this program takes energy efficiency, renewables and non-renewable resources directly into the classroom with a hands-on presentation. Each student goes home with a kit that includes easy-to-install technologies such as a low-flow shower head, faucet aerators and a written guide to assist families with installation and energy saving. The high school presentation includes a special emphasis on sustainability and on the unique usage footprint of a high school-aged student in the home, and the take-home kit also includes a smart power strip.
PNM Home Works for Students
Created just for fifth graders and high school students, this program takes energy efficiency, renewables and non-renewable resources directly into the classroom with a hands-on presentation. Each student goes home with a kit that includes easy-to-install technologies such as a low-flow shower head, faucet aerators and a written guide to assist families with installation and energy saving. The high school presentation includes a special emphasis on sustainability and on the unique usage footprint of a high school-aged student in the home, and the take-home kit also includes a smart power strip.
Easy Savings Kit
Through this program, PNM offers select low-income customers the opportunity to receive a free kit that includes LEDs, low-flow shower heads and other energy saving devices. PNM partners directly with eight New Mexico assistance agencies to distribute the kits and also provides them at PNM-sponsored low-income events.
Energy Smart
PNM contracts with the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority (MFA) to install LEDS and replace inefficient refrigerators in the homes of low-income customers. Additionally, participants can receive attic insulation, air and duct sealing and programmable thermostats.
PNM Quick Saver TM
Just for small businesses, this program pays for certain upgrades to make facilities more energy efficient. A participating PNM Quick Saver contractor will conduct an on-site assessment to identify energy saving opportunities. On average, PNM pays 65 percent or more of the project costs directly to the contractor, and the customer pays the balance. Customers are typically able to recover their investment through their energy savings in less than a year. Learn more
Retrofit Rebates
The Retrofit Rebate program offers a pre-set menu and custom incentives for business customers who install energy efficient equipment in their existing facilities. Learn more
New Construction Rebates
PNM customers can receive a rebate for implementing more efficient designs when building new facilities. Learn more
Multifamily Energy Efficiency Program
Multi-family property owners can receive rebates for installing energy efficient upgrades in common areas and inside resident units. Learn more
PNM Peak Saver
For large business customers, this program pays you for saving energy on peak demand days, which are typically the hottest days of the year. Learn more
PNM is committed to renewable energy and to New Mexico's energy future. We're constantly expanding our renewable energy capacity while providing incentives for customers who add their own. As the state's largest electricity provider, PNM serves more than 500,000 New Mexico residential and business customers in Greater Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Los Lunas and Belen, Santa Fe, Las Vegas, Alamogordo, Ruidoso, Silver City, Deming, Bayard, Lordsburg and Clayton. We also serve the New Mexico tribal communities of the Tesuque, Cochiti, Santo Domingo, San Felipe, Santa Ana, Sandia, Isleta and Laguna Pueblos.
Shining a light on the many steps we've taken together:
On Earth Day, April 22, 2019, PNM became the first large investor-owned utility in the nation to committ to 100% emissions-free energy by 2040. We are 100% Committed to continuing down this path of unprecedented opportunities, transparency and collaboration, which aided in the passage of the Energy Transition Act. Learn More
The renewable energy percentage here is an example of the amount of energy generated by renewable resources, such as sun and wind, being produced at any given time. Want to find out the amount of energy being generated right now in real time? Click Here
PNM is committed to renewable energy and to New Mexico's energy future. We're constantly expanding our renewable energy capacity while providing incentives for customers who add their own.
PNM Sky Blue ®
PNM Sky Blue is New Mexico's own home-grown source of 100% locally-generated, clean energy. PNM Sky Blue uses 22,000 solar panels from our facility in Los Lunas plus wind purchased from the New Mexico Energy Center near Fort Sumner to give our customers an easy, affordable way to show their support for clean energy.
Joining PNM Sky Blue makes it easy and affordable to support clean, renewable wind and solar energy without making the huge commitment of putting solar panels on your roof or wind turbines in your backyard. As little as $1.70 per month is all it takes to support clean, renewable energy here in New Mexico. The more customers that participate, the more wind and solar energy we can bring to New Mexico. Learn more
Prosperity Energy Storage Project
PNM Resources has helped pioneer energy storage research and development through the PNM Prosperity Energy Storage Project, the nation’s first solar storage facility fully integrated into a utility’s power grid. This 500-kilowatt grid-connected solar center plus energy storage system features one of the largest combinations of battery storage and photovoltaic energy in the nation. The project is a unique collaboration that includes the University of New Mexico, Northern New Mexico College, East Penn Manufacturing and Sandia National Laboratories. Learn more
Customer Solar Energy Program
If you're a PNM customer interested in installing solar power on your home or commercial building and generating some or all of your own electricity, then you'll be interested in learning more about the PNM Customer Solar Energy Program. We provide incentives to customers who install qualified solar energy systems and integrate them into the PNM grid. Learn more
PNM Resources has a history of strong environmental stewardship, balanced with cost conscientiousness. It is rooted in one of our core values: Caring about our customers, the communities we serve, and our natural resources. Across the company, our employees are dedicated to reducing the environmental footprint of our daily internal operations through recycling and other waste mitigation activities.
Water Usage
As part of the transformation of PNM’s generation portfolio, PNM is focused on reducing its water use. Innovative technologies such as air-cooling, energy efficiency programs and using renewable energy that does not consume water are very effective ways of reducing our water usage. The shutdown of San Juan Generating Station Units 2 and 3 in December 2017 reduced surface water usage by nearly one-half. As PNM adds resources to its generation portfolio that require less (or no) water to produce electricity, the intensity rate of our water use, in gallons per MWh, has fallen by 22% since 2007.
Our Environmental Management System
PNM operates under an Environmental Management System (EMS) which provides the framework to achieve environmental goals and regulatory compliance through consistent review, evaluation, and improvement of our environmental performance. A component of our EMS is internal environmental compliance audits and inspections to ensure our facilities operate in accordance with local, state, and federal environmental permits and regulations.
Emissions Reduction
PNM has worked to significantly reduce emissions over the past several years through the installation of additional pollution control technologies at San Juan Generating Station, the increased use of renewable energy, and the use of natural gas, and the development of extensive energy efficiency and conservation programs for customers.
The efforts at San Juan include:
Between 2006 and 2009, as part of a $320 million environmental upgrade, PNM and the other owners of San Juan Generating Station installed new technologies to significantly reduce plant emissions. The upgrade has resulted in a dramatic drop in four of the plant’s main emissions: nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 44%; sulfur dioxide (SO2) by 71%, particulate matter by 72%, and mercury by 87%.
In 2013, PNM worked with the EPA and the state of New Mexico to craft a plan to address EPA’s visibility rule and provide significant additional environmental benefits at a lower cost than the federal plan proposed by EPA.
The state implementation plan included the retirement of two of San Juan Generating Station’s four units by the end of 2017 and the installation of selective non-catalytic reduction to further reduce nitrogen oxide emissions.
The plan allowed PNM to reduce the burning of coal and increase the use of cleaner fuels, including solar energy and natural gas. It dramatically cut emissions, including carbon dioxide (CO2) which is the majority of PNM’s greenhouse gas emissions, NOx, SO2, particulate matter and mercury. The plan also resulted in an estimated 50 percent reduction in the plant’s water usage and coal ash generation.
Going forward, our proposed generation portfolio would achieve dramatic reductions in CO2 emissions, as well as other emissions. (See our Climate Change Report for more information).
Reduce, Reuse, and Upcycle!
Delivering electricity to your homes and businesses requires supplies such as wire that is packaged for use on reels, which may be made of wood, plastic or metal. PNM and our sister company, Texas-New Mexico Power (TNMP), have an employee-led program focused on diverting used materials away from landfills. A field coordinator from TNMP shared this picture of an upcycled wooden reel that was made into a bench with side table that he saw in Freeport, Texas.
Reduce Your Use Grants
Reduce Your Use Grants help nonprofit organizations put their energy-saving ideas into action with grants up to $5,000. Since its inception in 2008, this program has awarded more than $2 million to nonprofits around the state to help them decrease their energy use in order to free up funds for their mission-based programs. Learn more
EV Fleet Conversion
Thanks to our advanced GPS system, we are continually designing more efficient fleet routes, saving thousand of gallons of fuel each month. This focus on efficiency, coupled with the launch of our initial fleet of electric plug-in vehicles, has saved tens of thousands of gallons of gas which has kept 63.7 metric tons of carbon out of our air.
We’re also exploring new ways to incentivize our employees and customers to reduce their environmental impact through the purchase of electric vehicles and by providing free charging stations in coordination with Nissan in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
Reduce Your Use Grants
Reduce Your Use Grants help nonprofit organizations put their energy-saving ideas into action with grants up to $5,000. Since its inception in 2008, this program has awarded more than $2 million to nonprofits around the state to help them decrease their energy use in order to free up funds for their mission-based programs. Learn more
EV Fleet Conversion
Thanks to our advanced GPS system, we are continually designing more efficient fleet routes, saving thousand of gallons of fuel each month. This focus on efficiency, coupled with the launch of our initial fleet of electric plug-in vehicles, has saved tens of thousands of gallons of gas which has kept 63.7 metric tons of carbon out of our air.
We’re also exploring new ways to incentivize our employees and customers to reduce their environmental impact through the purchase of electric vehicles and by providing free charging stations in coordination with Nissan in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
Reduce Your Use Grants
Reduce Your Use Grants help nonprofit organizations put their energy-saving ideas into action with grants up to $5,000. Since its inception in 2008, this program has awarded more than $2 million to nonprofits around the state to help them decrease their energy use in order to free up funds for their mission-based programs. Learn more
Christmas Tree Recycling
PNM and the cities of Albuquerque and Rio Rancho offer free Christmas tree recycling every year. More than 15,000 trees are recycled at the New Mexico sites, saving valuable landfill space and generating water-savings and protective mulch.
Crews from PNM Vegetation Management, City of Albuquerque's Solid Waste Management Department and Rio Rancho's Keep Rio Rancho Beautiful Division grind the trees into mulch, which can be used by residents to provide a better growing environment for plants in city common areas and residential landscapes.
PNM Recycling Program
Since 2007, PNM Resources has recycled more than 28,650 tons of solid waste across its corporate operations. In 2012 alone, PNM recycled approximately 2,799 tons of material. We use the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WARM model to estimate Greenhouse Gas and British Thermal Unit usage reduction from recycling, source reduction and composting. Using the WARM model, 2012 recycling efforts were calculated to avoid 29,743 metric carbon equivalents and 249,892 million BTUs.
PNM received recognition from the New Mexico Recycling Coalition twice for its recycling efforts, once for its overall corporate recycling program as Business Recycler of the Year, and once for recycling efforts at its Ruidoso operations office.
PNM operations are active across New Mexico, and the complexity of the electricity industry presents many opportunities to recycle, including scrap metals, out-of-service power poles, reels and pallets, used oil, coolants, waste, lighting, old equipment, machinery, and regular office waste such as paper and plastics. In addition, San Juan Generating Station recycles significant amounts of fly ash, which is re-used in cement blocks and in road base.
In 2007, we developed a sophisticated database in which each PNM facility can enter all recyclables, donations, and re-use and waste. The PNM database uses algorithms to calculate front-load weight based on how full each front-load is and the type of waste — office or construction.
Our long-held dedication to Community Engagement supports the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a value of at least $869,000 in volunteer hours from 2016 to date, and more than $21 million to nonprofit and community partners through Corporate Giving and the PNM Resources Foundation from 2013 to 2018.
According to the top organizations funded through the corporation and our employees, the following SDGs are being supported annually:
PNM at ABQ BioPark
We recently announced a new program in partnership with the ABQ BioPark to help feed the herbivores at the zoo. Every day, many zoo animals, like elephants and giraffes, eat hundreds of pounds of "browse," tender shoots, twigs and green leaves of trees and shrubs. We thought since we already trim trees around the zoo, why not donate those trimmings to these animals? In our eyes, it was a natural collaboration. So that's what we did. The browse that is delivered to the zoo will provide nourishment and enrichment for the animals that eat plants. As part of this collaboration, we also introduced the "PNM Browse Trailer," which will routinely drop off the tree trimmmings. We believe this is just one more creative way that we can work together with the BioPark to benefit the community, and of course, reduce waste. In the end, we hope this program will make the zookeepers' job a little easier, feeding the animals a little cheaper, and create a collaboration that will last for years to come.
Community Crew Volunteers
PNM has partnered with Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless (AHCH) for years. Employees have served on their board, and volunteers have made sock kits containing personal hygiene items. Because PNM cares, AHCH facilities are more environmentally friendly and the nearly 7,000 people who access AHCH annually have received help thanks to grants and employee donations. Here’s the staff and volunteers wearing “Volunteer” bracelets to show their unity. A Big Congratulations AHCH for winning the Business in Ethics Award!
Community Crew Volunteers
Across New Mexico and Texas, crews of hundreds of employees work year-round to help schools and a wide variety of nonprofit organizations make our communities safer, stronger, and more vibrant. Last year, at least 720 employees donated more than 11,300 volunteer hours to support 250 organizations.
In fact, the PNMR Community Crew was named the Corporate Volunteer Group of the Year in 2018. Volunteer projects focus on results that are important to the community such as judging science fairs, creating educational events for youth, or helping to restore parks and nature centers. Many employees also serve as active members on the board of directors of community organizations. Yep, we get around.
Community Crew Volunteers
Across New Mexico and Texas, crews of hundreds of employees work year-round to help schools and a wide variety of nonprofit organizations make our communities safer, stronger, and more vibrant. Last year, at least 720 employees donated more than 11,300 volunteer hours to support 250 organizations.
In fact, the PNMR Community Crew was named the Corporate Volunteer Group of the Year in 2018. Volunteer projects focus on results that are important to the community such as judging science fairs, creating educational events for youth, or helping to restore parks and nature centers. Many employees also serve as active members on the board of directors of community organizations. Yep, we get around.
PNM Resources Foundation
The PNM Resources Foundation supported 40 New Mexico nonprofits in 2018 with $750,000 toward their missions through the New Century of Service Grant Program. This grant is designed to promote economic development, education and the environment within the PNM service area, the grants are awarded to organizations that work to innovate new products and services that, in turn, grow and develop businesses in New Mexico; create collaborative community spaces for public use; and provide educational opportunities that support economic development.
In honor of PNM turning 100 years old, PNM Resources and its shareholders contributed $1 million over the course of two years to the PNMR Foundation. These Centennial Grants were awarded to five nonprofits supporting economic and workforce development projects in New Mexico.
The PNM Resources Foundation awarded $100,000 in Power Grants in 2018 to 15 nonprofits in Texas for projects ranging from STEM learning programs, mobile libraries, and community safety projects. The grant program is designed to help nonprofit organizations build more vibrant communities.
The PNM Resources Foundation also support their employees through Volunteer and Matching Grants. In 2018, the foundation had 233 requests for a total of $88,300.00 Volunteer Grants and 301 requests for a total of $109,425.00 in Matching Grants.
Alamogordo
Albuquerque
Belen
Farmington
Las Vegas
Placitas
Ruidoso
Santa Clara
Santa Fe
Silver City
Good Neighbor Fund
Sometimes people need a little help. That’s why the Good Neighbor Fund was created. PNM customers who are facing a financial emergency can receive a grant to help pay part or all of a past-due PNM bill. In 2018, $461,795.00 was distributed to 3,703 families for bill payment support through the PNM Good Neighbor Fund.
But truly, the PNM Good Neighbor fund is more than a charitable fund, it is solid community outreach that touches the lives of income-challenged New Mexicans across the state. Started in 1989, the fund has helped thousands of people over the years with assistance towards electric bills across our service territory.
Good Neighbor Fund
The Good Neighbor Fund is reaching deeper into the communities we serve in a variety of ways.
Some examples of the programs we work with are:
Good Neighbor Fund
Sometimes people need a little help. That’s why the Good Neighbor Fund was created. PNM customers who are facing a financial emergency can receive a grant to help pay part or all of a past-due PNM bill. In 2018, $461,795.00 was distributed to 3,703 families for bill payment support through the PNM Good Neighbor Fund.
But truly, the PNM Good Neighbor fund is more than a charitable fund, it is solid community outreach that touches the lives of income-challenged New Mexicans across the state. Started in 1989, the fund has helped thousands of people over the years with assistance towards electric bills across our service territory.
The Good Neighbor Fund is reaching deeper into the communities we serve in a variety of ways.
Some examples of the programs we work with are:
Corporate Contributions
Yearly, we demonstrate our commitment to building and maintaining productive relationships with stakeholders, including customers, regulators, legislators and interveners through outreach, collaboration and various community-oriented programs. Our active partnerships with more than 400 statewide organizations combines PNM’s philanthropy with employee ‘volunteer power’ to foster the future workforce and vitality of our communities.
Recent examples include the PNM-UNM Statewide Math Contest, programs through Women’s Economic Self-Sufficiency team, and United Way Corporate Cornerstone support including Mission Families and Mission Graduate.
Santa Fe Canyon Preserve
Once the center of Santa Fe’s hydroelectric activity, today it’s a peaceful nature preserve brimming with wildflowers, willows, ponderosa pine, songbirds, deer, bears, and beavers. In 2000, PNM donated to The Nature Conservancy 200 acres in the Santa Fe watershed, which served as the foundation for the Santa Fe Canyon Preserve celebrating it’s 20th anniversary in 2020.
Since the start of the preserve, the Nature Conservancy, with a little help from Mother Nature and additional sponsorships from PNM and others, has worked to restore the land to its natural state and constructed a 1.5-mile interpretive loop trail detailing the colorful history.In addition to the donation of land, the PNM Resources Foundation gave The Nature Conservancy $15,000 to construct connecting trails in the Santa Fe Canyon Preserve.
Corporate Contributions
United Way Campaign
PNM Resources employees and corporate contributions support United Way programs and other organizations providing services to New Mexicans and Texans in need. PNM Resources has been, and continues to be, one of the major Corporate Cornerstone partners for United Way and a leader in supporting nonprofit organizations.
University of New Mexico’s Wild Things
Wild Friends is a unique, award-winning civics education program at the UNM School of Law. Their mission is to provide a statewide, experiential education program that integrates civics and wildlife law to help students in grades 4-12 understand the democratic process, develop good citizenship skills, and contribute to wildlife conservation by involving them in public policy projects of their choosing. For several years, PNM Resources has helped fund and support Wild Friends programs and students learning about environmental issues and positive policy changes.
Future Cities Student Competition
As one of the sponsors of this competition, PNM was impressed with all of the “Future Cities” 3-D models presented this weekend. Executive VP, Ron Darnell, announced the awards at UNM and met students from around the state competing to “Power Our Future” by designing resilient power grids. Top winners from Annunciation Catholic School will represent New Mexico in DC February 2019.
TNMP Power Grants
TNMP Power Grants aim to strengthen Texas by investing in our communities.
The TNMP Fund seeks innovative and creative proposals from qualifying 501(c)(3) organizations, schools and municipalities that support the communities TNMP serves.
Priorities
Funding priorities include (but are not limited to):
Facts about 2018 grants
2018 Recipients
PNM has partnered with Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless (AHCH) for years. Employees have served on their board, and volunteers have made sock kits containing personal hygiene items. Because PNM cares, AHCH facilities are more environmentally friendly and the nearly 7,000 people who access AHCH annually have received help thanks to grants and employee donations. Here’s the staff and volunteers wearing “Volunteer” bracelets to show their unity. A Big Congratulations AHCH for winning the Business in Ethics Award!
The PNM Tribal Government Relations Team actively engages our eight tribal customer communities and businesses through valued relationships and outreach. Our business operations work together with 16 of the 23 New Mexico’s tribes to address the energy needs of our tribal partners.
Our Team’s work includes:
We value our business relationships with each sovereign nation. That’s why each of our partnerships reflect the core values of both entities, and we view New Mexico’s tribes as essential and lasting relationships and partnerships, rather than the obstructive “us vs. them” mentality of the past.
The PNM Tribal Government Relations Team actively engages our eight tribal customer communities and businesses through valued relationships and outreach. Our business operations work together with 16 of the 23 New Mexico’s tribes to address the energy needs of our tribal partners.
Our Team’s work includes:
We value our business relationships with each sovereign nation. That’s why each of our partnerships reflect the core values of both entities, and we view New Mexico’s tribes as essential and lasting relationships and partnerships, rather than the obstructive “us vs. them” mentality of the past.
Navajo Nation Workforce Training Scholarship
The PNM Navajo Nation Workforce Training Initiative was established in 2013. PNM and the Navajo Nation joined forces with Navajo Technical University in Crownpoint and San Juan College in Farmington to develop and administer the program. PNM is contributing $1 million, distributed $200,000 annually over five years, to Navajo student scholarship recipients.
All Navajo students are eligible, but the program especially targets at-risk students, such as those who have depleted government financial aid, or who reside in the Navajo chapters that surround the San Juan and Four Corners operations.
The program offers up to $1,500 per semester to pursue bachelor’s degrees, $1,000 for associate’s programs and $500 for trade certifications. As of May 2018, 260 scholarship recipients had earned certificates and degrees.
We’re so proud of the students for their achievements, and grateful to the Navajo Nation for the opportunity to be part of this effort.
PNM American Indian Engineering Internship Program
Since inception in 2009, PNM has assisted 28 American Indian Engineering students with valuable on the job training experience though the internship program.
During their internships, students meet with Pat Vincent-Collawn, PNM Resources Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, as they complete critical work assignments in the program. When meeting with the interns, she offers insight about leading an energy company, her leadership experiences and day-to-day challenges. Pat also gives students opportunities to ask questions related to current industry issues including improvements in solar technology, the company’s plan to transition away from coal, and how PNM contributes to the local economy.
The success of the internship program resulted in the hiring of four interns, upon graduation, into full-time positions in PNM, including Customer Service Operations, Power Production, Environmental Services and Transmission and Distribution Engineering.
Through our tribal program, we are happy to provide valuable work experience to college engineering students with specific project-based work that will not only help jumpstart their resume, but also gain them invaluable hands-on experience.
PNM Solar Car Races
Each year, Native students from around New Mexico work for weeks with PNM employees, many of whom are engineers, to design, build, test and pre-race their solar-powered model cars. Launched in 1994, this program’s primary purpose is about teaching science, technology, engineering and math in a hands-on, engaging way.
PNM partners with 8-10 tribal schools within our service territory and on the Navajo Nation to learn about renewable energy and the use of solar panels in the creation of their solar cars. On average, more than 200 fifth-grade students build approximately 70 solar cars in their classrooms. The top three cars from each school earned the chance to race in the finals at Explora Children’s Museum.
Cultural Sensitivity Training
A key focus at PNM is to educate our staff on building a unique understanding of New Mexico’s tribal communities to support their field of work on a daily basis in areas such as culture, protocol, policy, governance and business structures.
Our Cultural Sensitivity Training helps our leadership and employee’s understand more fully the role and function of the Tribal Government Relations team, and the impacts tribes have upon PNM business. Discussions include tribal sovereignty, key federal Indian law and policy, tribal jurisdiction and Rights of Way, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 23 New Mexico tribal government structures, how to effectively work with tribes and tribal customers and cultural etiquette tips.
Tribal Leader Energy Breakfasts
The annual PNM Tribal Leadership Energy Breakfast provides tribal leadership and PNM staff to actively discuss energy-related topics and key initiatives that are important to our tribal customers and PNM.
Our employees are our greatest resource at PNM. That’s why we have established workplace and employment principles to help ensure that they are treated fairly and with dignity and respect, including our Do The Right Thing code of conduct which is an over-arching guiding document that lays the foundation of what is expected of employees. This and our Core Values guide the way as we strive for continuous improvement in:
What’s more, we make sure our employee benefits are competitive, and designed to meet the varied wants and needs of our employees while cultivating a work environment that encourages personal and professional growth. Company-offered insurance plans are also available to the employee and eligible dependents, including same-sex spouses.
Diversity and Inclusion
We are super proud to employ a diverse workforce and recognize the tremendous value that diverse backgrounds and perspectives bring to our organization. For seven consecutive years, PNM was honored as the best company in America for employing Hispanics and ranked among the best for minorities by Fortune magazine.
Here’s an overview of our workforce:
We have received numerous awards over the years for the diversity of our workforce including:
Team Green
The success of the PNM recycling program is due to an all-volunteer grassroots effort by our employees. Team Green members champion reduce, re-use, and recycle opportunities at each PNM location which consists of finding opportunities for the “3Rs”, supporting the Investment Recovery program and recording metrics associated with those efforts.
All employees can participate in reducing our waste streams by:
A valuable source of information and support for Team Green is the New Mexico Recycling Coalition
Environmental Leadership & Training
Initiated in 2018, the focus of this interactive training is to help PNM leadership and employees work better with our environmental communities and and collaborate with environmental leaders on behalf of New Mexico and our energy future.
PNM Forerunners
The PNM Forerunners group provides a way for PNM retirees to stay in touch with each other and with the company, as well as be involved in their communities. The group produces a newsletter and meets quarterly to network together and learn about company issues.
Employee Volunteer Day
On one day each year, employees are given time away from their daily work to volunteer. Together, employees tackle more than 40 projects across NM and TX. They demonstrate the company’s core value of caring by serving organizations and working on company-organized projects like Alamogordo Earth Day, Animal Humane, Albuquerque Botanic Garden, New Mexico Veteran’s Memorial Park clean-up, Silver Horizons Senior Food Market, San Juan River Reach clean-up, Ruidoso Grinstone Lake clean-up, El Regugio Domestic Violence Shelter, and more. On this day, community members have said they can feel the collective volunteer power provided by the PNM Resource teams.
Employees are also given eight hours of Volunteer Time Off per year to serve an organization or school of their choice.
Volunteer Grants
PNM Volunteer Grants turn PNM employees’ and retirees’ volunteer hours into cash. A PNM employee or retiree can request two contributions up to $500 each a year on behalf of a New Mexico or Texas nonprofit organization where he or she volunteers.
Matching Grants
Matching Grants provide employees and retirees the opportunity to double their contributions to qualifying New Mexico and Texas 501(c)3 organizations or post-secondary educational institutions in the United States.
Employee Power Grants
If one were to zoom down to New Mexico on any given weekend, the view might be a sea of teal blue PNM Community Crew shirts running in a race for charity, walking for a cause, or biking for a cure. Employee groups of five or more participants are given “Power Grants” to complete projects of their choice throughout the year. The company supports team projects or group volunteer projects such as cooking for Ronald McDonald House charities. Activities benefit qualifying 501c3 organizations or schools, and employees are proud to post photos on the internal PNM/TNMP Facebook group.
PNM Power Up Grants aim to strengthen New Mexico by investing in our communities. Learn more
Employee Crisis Fund
The Employee Crisis Fund provides a source of relief to employees who are facing financial hardship due to their own or their immediate family member’s catastrophic event, life threatening illness or injury, or the death of an immediate family member. Active employees are eligible for assistance of up to $2,500. The fund was made possible by a donation by the PNM Resources Foundation and is actively managed by the Albuquerque Community Foundation.
Safety First
The safety of our employees and customers is a priority at PNM. All employees are required to wear proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when needed and follow safety rules and guidelines while on the job. Regularly scheduled safety trainings are also provided to employees depending on the type of work they do. Safety policy documents, online safety videos, weekly safety tips, and other materials are provided to employees to encourage continuous safety conversations and education throughout the company.
In addition to educating PNM employees on how to stay safe on the job and at home, PNM values educating our customers on electrical safety as well. Customers can find an extensive safety section on PNM.com that offers information and tips on how to stay safe in a variety of situations. Learn more
PNM is a leader in the utility industry for minimizing and mitigating the environmental impacts of utility work by having a strong Environmental Management System (EMS) which is rooted in our Environmental Policy and the international ISO 14001 standard for Environmental Management Systems.
The overall goal of the EMS is to ensure continuous improvement in the Company’s environmental performance and foster a Company-wide environmental stewardship ethic.
Our EMS tools ensure that all Company employees incorporate environmental stewardship in their daily activities. The foundation of the EMS is the Environmental Screening Process. Before field work or new projects begin, PNM employees screen their activities to identify potential issues associated with compliance requirements and resource protection. These issues include:
When an issue is identified, work does not proceed until environmental clearance containing adequate and appropriate precautions, stipulations and permits has been issued. This system has allowed the company to establish a significant database of environmental and culturally sensitive areas in New Mexico, using existing government resources as well as data which our company has specifically collected or funded. We also require regular comprehensive environmental training for operational employees and some contractors at least every two years.
Power to the Pollinators!
When PNM comes across beehives that have made a home in our equipment, we call out beekeepers to capture and relocate these important pollinators. You never know what a bee is up to when it disappears in a crack. Power to the pollinators! These pictures show a very active hive, with at least 20,000 bees, professional beekeeper. Beekeepers and PNM employees alike donned the bee gear and all remained un-stung, got to enjoy some delicious honey, and the bees made it safely to their new home.
Malcolm’s Wild Adventure
PNM employees are proud to serve the communities in New Mexico, and we take environmental stewardship very seriously. Recently, Malcolm, a craft supervisor at Reeves Generating Station in Albuquerque, noticed a barn owl who was stuck inside a facility in Algodones. The owl was having a hard time finding his way out and Malcolm was worried about him. Malcolm worked with Hawks Aloft, Inc. to do everything they could to coax the owl to leave the building and continue his life in the wild. Eventually, the owl flew out safely. To express their gratitude for Malcolm’s compassion for our feathered friend, Hawks Aloft brought Celeste, a barn owl ambassador, over to Reeves for a fun photo op.
Saving Lives with Animal Safety Ladders
Wildlife protection is part of our sustainability mission. Water containment in arid locations can be attractive to wildlife and other critters, so the Afton Generating Station in Southern New Mexico recently installed animal safety ladders in the north evaporative lagoon complex in order to allow animals that may accidentally get into the ponds, despite fencing, to get back out. This is just one of the many efforts that we embark on to protect New Mexico’s wildlife.
Wildlife Protection
The many beautiful desert and mountain landscapes in New Mexico means that our state is home to hundreds of avian species. As population areas have expanded and the need to build more electricity infrastructure has increased, birds have adapted and now use electricity-related structures to roost, nest or find protection from weather events. Unfortunately, birds and electricity don't always mix. While birds can sit on power lines and be safe, if they happen to touch energized conductors and/or grounded equipment, such as a transformer bank, they can be electrocuted.
PNM takes its commitment to the environment and efforts to protect New Mexico's wildlife very seriously. To deal with the problem of electricity-related bird deaths and outages caused by birds coming into contact with equipment, we created our Avian Protection Program in 2006. Efforts to bird guard PNM equipment and install avian safe structures have paid off. PNM offers educational programs and installs habitats on power poles to help in that effort.
On one line in Tijeras, N.M., there were 78 bird or animal-related incidents over several years. After bird guarding was put in place on the line, the number of incidents was reduced to only two the following year.
Since 2014 the Company has spent over $6.9 million to make distribution poles avian-safe. The cost to bird guard a structure is dependent upon the location, the necessity to plan an outage to bird guard, the aerial equipment located on the pole, and the pole configuration.
The PNM Avian Protection Program focuses on several key areas including:
Not only has PNM committed to avian protection on its own system, but we have shared knowledge with other utilities to help them implement similar programs. PNM is the founder and ongoing sponsor of the New Mexico Avian Protection Working Group, in conjunction with Hawks Aloft, New Mexico Game and Fish, the Rural Utility Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Group trains co-ops and other utilities throughout the Southwest on avian protection best practices.
PNM is a charter member of the Avian Power Line Interaction Committee (APLIC), a national organization of utility industry biologists and standards engineers, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. APLIC has developed and published Suggested Practices for Avian Protection on Power Lines, which reflects the state of the art in avian protection practices.
It is important to note that avian protection efforts have co-benefits in the protection of terrestrial species, as well. Cover-up material, in particular, can protect ground species such as squirrels, raccoons, and rabbits from electrocution.
PNM is an active participant in the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program. This innovative endeavor was developed through cooperation among federal agencies, the states of New Mexico and Colorado, Native American nations and tribes, water users and conservation interests with the intent to assist in the recovery of the endangered Colorado Pikeminnow and Razorback Sucker in the San Juan River. As part of the program, the San Juan Generating Station partially funded and maintains a fish passage adjacent to its river diversion to allow these native fish access to critical habitat. Learn more
Vegetation Management
As long as we have trees, there will always be a conflict between the power we depend on and the trees that beautify our communities and landscapes. Our Vegetation Management Program helps us manage that conflict by trimming trees that can interfere with power lines.
We trim trees to:
Protecting New Mexico’s Birds
PNM cares deeply about the environment and the wildlife that calls New Mexico home. We are lucky enough to live in a state that is diverse in terrain, and we share the space with an incredible variety of wildlife and bird species. In an effort to encourage safe nesting for raptors and other large birds, and to improve and maintain reliability, PNM has completed a large project installing hundreds of perch diverters along a main transmission line that has experienced bird-related outages.
The perch diverter project took place along the BB transmission line, which runs from north of Albuquerque to the Clovis-Potales area of Eastern New Mexico. PNM engaged Hawks Aloft, Inc., a local avian conservation, research and education organization, to help determine the species nesting and the location of the nests on the structures. This data assisted in identifying the cause of interruptions that were occuring along the line. Findings showed that when the birds perch on certain parts of the transmission structures, their excrement can "stream" and bridge the clearance between the power lines, causing faults on the line.
The perch diverters will discourage the birds from sitting on certain locations on the structure while encouraging them to locate to a safer location, thus protecting the line from bird-related outages, improving reliability and maintaining the integrity of the line. The diverters were installed on over 400 structures by line crews who are flown to each structure from a helicopter, and the project was done while the line remained energized to minimize outages.
Resource Conservation & Protection
As New Mexicans our heritage is defined by our culture and the land we live and work on. Whether in the high deserts and red tinged mesas in the west, the soaring alpine forested mountains in the north, the rolling fruited plains in the east or the lush central river valley that flows into the croplands in the south, we are a part of the land as much as it is part of us. As stewards of this land, we all have a responsibility to do everything we can to preserve our beautiful environment.
The best method to protect cultural and natural resources is avoidance of the resource. Using “hotzones,” other location specific information, and operation-wide training we are able to identify resources, such as habitat, waterways, and cultural sites and artifacts, early in the planning process. New Mexico is rich in cultural resources which are found throughout the federal, state, local and tribal/pueblo lands which make up almost half the state. We work with each jurisdictional area to protect sites, artifacts, and traditional cultural properties.