Атомная комиссия США одобрила смену владельца доли в энергоблоке Palo Verde без изменений в работе станции

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved the indirect transfer of control of Public Service Company of New Mexico's co-ownership interest in the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Maricopa County, Arizona. The order was issued Aug. 18 and published in the Federal Register on Monday, Aug. 24, under citation 91 FR 54766. The single most important line for people who live near the plant or buy power from it is that nothing changes at the site. The NRC order states that no physical changes or operational changes were proposed in the application, and that after the transaction there would be no change in the control of Palo Verde's operation. Arizona Public Service remains the licensed operator and would continue to make all technical decisions that do not require approval from every owner. What is changing sits several corporate layers above the reactors. PNM is one of seven co-owners and holds possession-only, non-operating rights, meaning it is not licensed to run the facility. The approval clears a regulatory step in Blackstone Infrastructure's pending acquisition of PNM's parent company, TXNM Energy, a deal that still needs a separate green light from New Mexico state regulators. Inside the Order Issued This Month Arizona Public Service filed the application on April 24 on behalf of PNM, Troy ParentCo LLC and their corporate affiliates. The filing sought consent under federal license-transfer rules covering the three renewed operating licenses for Palo Verde Units 1, 2 and 3, and the general license for the plant's independent spent fuel storage installation. The order notes the transaction affects only upstream corporate ownership and does not modify PNM's assets, obligations, or participation in the plant. The order traces the ownership chain in detail. Troy ParentCo sits beneath a series of Delaware entities ultimately controlled by four Blackstone Infrastructure Management entities, which are in turn indirectly and wholly controlled by Blackstone Inc. The order describes Blackstone as a publicly traded investment firm with nearly $1.2 trillion in assets under management. NRC staff determined the proposed transferee is qualified to be the indirect holder of the licenses. A notice inviting comment and hearing requests ran in June. The agency reported receiving no comments and no hearing requests. The order takes effect on issuance and becomes null and void if the transfer is not completed within one year, unless extended for good cause. Ownership on Paper, Operations Unchanged at Tonopah Palo Verde sits on roughly 4,000 acres of Sonoran Desert near Tonopah, about 45 miles west of downtown Phoenix. Its three Combustion Engineering pressurized water reactors have a net summer capacity of 3,937 megawatts, the largest of any nuclear plant in the country. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the plant accounted for 4 percent of the nation's nuclear generation and 27 percent of Arizona's total net generation from all sources in 2024. The other co-owners are Salt River Project, Southern California Edison, El Paso Electric, Southern California Public Power Authority and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, alongside APS and PNM. All six non-operating owners hold their interests as tenants in common with possession-only rights. APS has separately signaled a much longer operating horizon. In a March statement, the utility said it had filed a notice of intent to seek subsequent license renewal for all three units, which could extend operations from the mid-2040s into the mid-2060s. "Palo Verde Generating Station is essential to our customers," APS President and CEO Ted Geisler said in that announcement. The utility said it does not expect to file the renewal application itself until late 2027. The Water Question Behind a Desert Reactor Palo Verde carries an environmental profile no other American reactor site shares. It is the only U.S. nuclear plant not sited on a river, lake, or ocean. Instead, it is cooled with treated municipal effluent piped roughly 36 miles west from the 91st Avenue Wastewater Treatment Plant in Phoenix, then treated again on site before circulating through nine mechanical-draft cooling towers. A 2010 agreement with Glendale, Mesa, Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe allots the plant up to 26 billion gallons of treated effluent per year through 2050. Arizona water officials have pointed to the arrangement as a reuse model. Department of Water Resources staff who toured the reclamation facility reported that less than 5 percent of the water entering the plant ultimately reaches evaporation ponds, with the rest cycled repeatedly through the generating units. That dependence matters as the Phoenix metro navigates drought and Colorado River shortfalls. Nothing in the NRC order alters the water contract or the cooling arrangement. Ratepayer Questions Still Open in New Mexico The federal approval does not close the deal. TXNM Energy and Blackstone Infrastructure extended their merger agreement in July to a termination date of May 31, 2027, citing the need for more time on approvals. The roughly $11.5 billion transaction, which would pay TXNM shareholders $61.25 per share in cash, has cleared the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Federal Communications Commission, and the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period expired without objection. The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission remains the outstanding state approval. That proceeding was effectively paused in early July after commissioners voted 2 to 1 to unwind a $400 million stock sale to Blackstone affiliates that they found required prior commission approval, and imposed $300,000 in penalties. TXNM entered a $400 million term loan to reverse the transaction and said it intended to file a compliance report with the commission before the end of July. The companies estimate closing in the first half of 2027, pending a new procedural schedule. For New Mexico households, the practical stake is regulatory, not physical. PNM's rates, investments, and cost recovery stay under state commission review regardless of who owns the parent company. The company has told regulators the acquisition would deliver customer benefits, and consumer advocates and the state attorney general have contested elements of the deal. Next Milestones in the Approval Sequence The NRC order requires the applicant to notify the director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation in writing once all required regulatory approvals are received, before the transfer closes. The one-year clock on the order runs from Aug. 18. Readers tracking the case can follow docket NRC-2026-2575 on the federal rulemaking site and the state proceeding through New Mexico Public Regulation Commission filings. What remains unresolved is the New Mexico schedule, which had not been reestablished as of the order's publication. What Readers Want to Know Does this change anything at the Palo Verde plant? No. The NRC order states that no physical or operational changes were proposed and that control of plant operations does not change. Arizona Public Service remains the licensed operator. Who is actually buying what? Blackstone Infrastructure affiliates are acquiring TXNM Energy, the parent company of PNM. PNM holds a minority, possession-only ownership interest in Palo Verde, so federal law required NRC consent for the indirect transfer. Did the public get a chance to weigh in? Yes. The NRC published a notice in June inviting comments and hearing requests. The agency reported receiving none. Will electricity bills change because of this order? Not because of this order. Rates for PNM customers remain subject to New Mexico Public Regulation Commission review, and the pending merger includes proposed customer benefits that the commission has not yet approved. Is the deal now complete? No. The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission approval is still outstanding, and its procedural schedule was paused. The companies estimate closing in the first half of 2027. Why does a nuclear plant in the desert matter for water? Palo Verde is the only U.S. nuclear plant not located on a large body of water. It is cooled with treated municipal wastewater under a contract running through 2050, which ties plant operations to Phoenix-area reuse infrastructure. Where can readers read the order? The order appears in the Federal Register under document number 2026-17244 and docket NRC-2026-2575. © 2026 NatureWorldNews.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.