The Great Power Play: BlackRock’s and Blackstone’s Bids For US Utilities Takeover

-

If you’re the sort of person who used to think owning a utility was about steady cash and tasteful maintenance of transformers, welcome to 2025 — when utilities have become the private-equity equivalent of beachfront condos. 

In one corner, BlackRock (via Global Infrastructure Partners, or GIP) and CPP Investments are reportedly circling Allete — the parent of Duluth’s Minnesota Power — with a roughly $6.2 billion checkbook. 

In the other, Blackstone has announced plans to acquire TXNM Energy (the parent of PNM and TNMP) for $11.5 billion, a deal that would hand them sway over utilities serving some 800,000 customers across New Mexico and Texas.

If that sounds like two hedge-fund-themed romcom storylines colliding — “Love Actually, But With Grid Infrastructure” — the plot thickens when regulators and judges show up like reluctant parents.

“Not in my backyard” meets “Not in my ratepayer bill”

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is now the gatekeeper. 

An administrative law judge has already recommended the PUC reject the Allete deal, citing concerns about potential negative impacts on Minnesota’s energy transition, Allete’s financial stability, and — crucially — ratepayers! 

That recommendation has cleaved the clean-energy scene in Minnesota into two awkward dinner-party camps: some environmental groups worry private-ownership could slow the shift to renewables and prioritize dividends over decarbonization; others argue that deep-pocketed investors could supply capital needed for grid upgrades and clean energy build-outs.

Meanwhile, in the Southwest, Blackstone’s proposed buy of TXNM Energy is winding its way through a thicket of state and federal regulatory approvals and is not expected to close until the second half of 2026. 

Regulators will likely be asking the usual awkward questions: will profit-hungry managers’ incentives line up with reliable power delivery and fair rates? 

Or will they see the grid as an ATM whose PIN code is “ratepayer patience”?

Why private equity suddenly loves poles and substations

There are, to be fair, fairly straightforward reasons private equity is cozying up to wires and transformers. 

Electricity demand is rising — in part because data centers, many of them fueled by the AI boom, guzzle power like raccoons at an open compost bin. 

Developers need capital. Utilities have predictable cash flows and regulated returns. 

But predictable profits for investors don’t automatically equal predictable bills for households.

Consumer advocates and environmental watchdogs are waving red flags. 

Their worry isn’t whether investors will fix the lights — it’s that incentives could tilt from serving the public toward maximizing returns: think higher rates, trimmed transparency, and decision-making that prioritizes short-term payoffs over long-term decarbonization and resilience.

The tricky calculus of capital vs. public interest

A private equity owner might pour capital into transmission upgrades or battery storage — which would be good. 

Or it might be tempted to squeeze profits, outsource labor, cut corners on maintenance, or push rate structures that recover debt faster. 

Regulators are supposed to be the firewall, but effective oversight requires resources, vigilance, and an appetite for long, boring hearings. 

The administrative law judge’s suggested rejection of the Allete takeover makes plain the anxieties: could a change in ownership slow Minnesota’s energy transition, destabilize Allete financially (think: leverage and debt servicing), or saddle consumers with higher bills?

There aren’t any cartoon villains here — just a tangle of competing priorities. 

CPP Investments, pension funds, and global infrastructure firms don’t exactly sparkle as public-spirited philanthropists, but they also want steady returns for retirees and clients. 

Local communities want dependable service at reasonable cost and a credible path to cleaner energy. 

Regulators want both reliability and sustainability. 

Aligning all three is, in short, the regulatory equivalent of trying to fold a fitted sheet neatly on a first try!

What happens next?

Well first, consumers need to watch the PUC and the various state utility commissions like hawks with spreadsheets. 

If the deals go through, they’ll set precedents: Will private equity own large swaths of U.S. regulated infrastructure, and if so, under what rules? 

If deals are blocked, will utilities turn to other sources of capital — or face a pinch that slows upgrades?

Either way, the story is a reminder that the future of our lights, EV chargers, and the AI servers gobbling power in anonymous data centers isn’t just a techno problem — it’s a financial governance question. 

And until regulators, consumers, and advocates stir up a satisfying consensus, expect more boardroom drama and regulatory cliffhangers — plus the occasional investor memo wondering, very earnestly, whether transformers make good long-term buy-and-hold assets.


Panama Canal Caught in Cosco Conundrum: BlackRock’s Ports Deal Now 50% More Awkward!

“No paywall. No puppets. Just local truth. Chip in $3 today” at https://buymeacoffee.com/doublejeopardynews

“Enjoy this content without corporate censorship? Help keep it that way.”

“Ad-Free. Algorithm-Free. 100% Independent. Support now.”

#PowerPlay #BlackRock #GIP #CPPInvestments #Allete #MinnesotaPower #Blackstone #TXNM #PNM #TNMP #UtilitiesTakeover #EnergyTransition #RatepayerRights #AIandEnergy #InfrastructureDebate

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Please Help Find These Forgotten Girls Held at Male Juvenile Prison for Over a Year!

-
Image
  MY MOST IMPORTANT STORY  Dozens of Forgotten Little Girls Held at Male Juvenile Prison for Over a Year! Welcome to the Sunshine State, where the palm trees sway, the alligators lurk, and the legislative process makes Kafka look like a life coach!  Florida House Bill HB21 . Not just a compensation bill but possibly a 20 million dollar "Stay out of Jail Free" card for some folks. This is a bill that does some good—but also trips over its own shoelaces, falls down a staircase, and lands on a historical oversight so big, it might as well have its own zip code! An oversight that overlooks what I consider to be its most vulnerable victims! The Setup: Justice with a Catch HB21 was enacted on July 1, 2024 to compensate victims of abuse from two male juvenile detention facilities located in Florida, Dozier and Okeechobee.  It says, “Hey, survivors of abuse between 1940 and 1975, here’s some compensation for the horrific things you endured!” Sounds good, right? Like a...
Read more

Here's A New HOA Rule Dictating What You Can Do Inside Your Home

-
Image
HOA Overreach: When Your Own Home Isn’t Really Your Own The joys of homeownership—the American dream!  That magical place where you can paint the walls any color you like, blast your music (within reason), and enjoy the simple pleasure of—wait, never mind..... Turns out, your HOA might have something to say about what you do inside your own four walls. Case in point: A longtime homeowner, who has peacefully lived in his residence for 25 years, was blindsided when his HOA suddenly banned smoking inside individual homes.  That’s right—after a quarter-century of no issues, he was informed that lighting up indoors was no longer an option.  The new rule, passed at the HOA’s annual meeting by a majority vote, now restricts smoking to a designated outdoor area. Now, while some might see this as a health-conscious decision, the homeowner—whose wife is a smoker—sees it as an unfair overreach.  In a letter to a local publication, he expressed frustration, writing, “I’ve live...
Read more

Postal Police Stuck Behind ‘Keep Out’ Signs While Mailmen Face Muggers: You Can’t Make This Stuff Up!!

-
Image
As crime against letter carriers surges, one would think that America’s armed, uniformed Postal Police might be hitting the streets to protect our mail.  Instead, they’re still glued to their post office entrances like sentries guarding Fort Frownmore.  Why?  Because since 2020, the Postmaster General decreed they must “protect postal property” only—meaning, they currently serve as glorified lobby bouncers rather than actual roaming guardians of the mailstream. “ They’re robbing letter carriers, they’re sticking a gun in a letter carrier’s face and they’re demanding arrow keys, ” laments Frank Albergo , president of the National Postal Police Union and a Postal Police Officer himself.  An "arrow key" in the context of the Post Office is a specialized, universal key that postal workers use to access various locked mail receptacles, including collection boxes, apartment mailboxes, and cluster boxes. Albergo isn’t exaggerating—research shows over 100 physical assaul...
Read more