[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 162 (Monday, August 24, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54766-54768]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-17244]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. STN 50-528, STN 50-529, STN-530, and 72-44; NRC-2026-2575]
Arizona Public Service Company; Palo Verde Nuclear Generating
Station, Units 1, 2, and 3; Indirect Transfer of Control of Licenses
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Order; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission)
is issuing an order approving the application dated April 24, 2026,
filed by Arizona Public Service Company (APS), on behalf of Public
Service Company of New Mexico (PNM), Troy ParentCo LLC (Troy ParentCo),
and their corporate affiliates (together, Applicants). The application
sought NRC consent to the indirect transfer of control of PNM's co-
ownership of the Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-41, NPF-
51, and NPF-74 for the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (Palo
Verde), Units 1, 2, and 3, respectively, as well as the associated
general license for the Palo Verde Independent Spent Fuel Storage
Installation (ISFSI) (together, the facility). No physical changes or
operational changes to the facility were proposed in the application.
DATES: The order was issued on August 18, 2026, and is effective for
one year.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2026-2575 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain publicly available information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2026-2575. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Bridget Curran;
telephone: 301-415-1003; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individual(s) listed in the For Further
Information Contact section of this document.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin ADAMS Public Search.''
For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public Document Room
(PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to
[email protected]. The license transfer order and the NRC staff
safety evaluation supporting the order are available in ADAMS under
Package Accession No. ML26197A237.
NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an
appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8
a.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason J. Drake, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-8378; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the order is attached.
(Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.)
Dated: August 20, 2026.
[[Page 54767]]
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jason Drake,
Project Manager, Operating Reactor Licensing Branch IV, Division
Licensing Projects I, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
Attachment--Order Approving Indirect Transfer of Control of Licenses
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
In the Matter of Arizona Public Service Company Public Service
Company of New Mexico Troy ParentCo LLC Palo Verde Nuclear
Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3 and Independent Spent Fuel
Storage Installation Docket Nos. STN 50-528, STN 50-529, STN 50-530,
and 72-44 License Nos. NPF -41, NPF-51, and NPF-74.
Order Approving Indirect Transfer of Control of Licenses
I.
Arizona Public Service Company (APS) is the licensed operator and a
licensed co-owner of Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-41,
NPF-51, and NPF-74 for Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (Palo
Verde), Units 1, 2, and 3, respectively, and the general license for
the Palo Verde Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI)
(collectively, the Licenses). Palo Verde is located in Maricopa County,
Arizona. The other licensed co-owners (tenants-in-common), Salt River
Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District; Southern
California Edison Company; El Paso Electric Company; Public Service
Company of New Mexico (PNM); Southern California Public Power
Authority; and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, hold
possession-only rights for these Licenses (i.e., they are not licensed
to operate the facility).
II.
By application dated April 24, 2026 (Agencywide Documents Access
and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML26114A391), APS on behalf
of PNM, Troy ParentCo LLC (Troy ParentCo), and their corporate
affiliates (together, Applicants) requested, pursuant to Title 10 of
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Sections 50.80, ``Transfer of
licenses,'' and 72.50, ``Transfer of license,'' that the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) consent to the indirect
transfer of control of the Licenses.
PNM is one of seven co-owners of Palo Verde Units 1, 2, and 3, and
the ISFSI. APS operates Palo Verde Units 1, 2, and 3, and the ISFSI on
behalf of the ownership group. According to the application, Applicants
requested the indirect transfer of the Licenses so that they can
complete a transaction pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger
dated May 18, 2025 (the ``Merger Agreement''). Under the Merger
Agreement, TXNM Energy, Inc. (TXNM) and, in turn, PNM, as a wholly
owned subsidiary of TXNM would become wholly owned subsidiaries of Troy
ParentCo.
Troy ParentCo, a Delaware limited liability company, is a wholly
owned, direct subsidiary of Troy IntermediateCo LLC, a Delaware limited
liability company, which is a wholly owned, direct subsidiary of Troy
TopCo LP (Troy TopCo). Troy TopCo, a Delaware limited partnership,
whose general partner is Troy GP LLC, a Delaware limited liability
company, is wholly owned by Troy Aggregator LP, a Delaware limited
partnership. The general partner of Troy Aggregator LP is BIP Holdings
Manager L.L.C. Interests in Troy Aggregator LP are held by passive
investors and limited partners that are all investment funds or
vehicles directly or indirectly controlled by four entities: (i) BIA GP
L.P., (ii) BIA GP NQ L.P., (iii) Blackstone Infrastructure Associates
(Lux) S.[agrave].r.l., and/or (iv) BXISA L.L.C. (collectively,
Blackstone Infrastructure Management). These entities comprising
Blackstone Infrastructure Management are, in turn, indirectly and
wholly controlled by Blackstone Inc. (Blackstone). Blackstone is a
publicly traded investment firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE: BX) with nearly $1.2 trillion in assets under management.
The transaction affects only upstream corporate ownership and does
not modify PNM's assets, obligations, or participation in PVNGS or the
ISFSI. Accordingly, after the proposed transaction, there would be no
change in the control of the operation of Palo Verde; APS would
continue to make all technical decisions that do not require approval
from all owners of Palo Verde. No physical changes or operational
changes were proposed in the application.
A notice of consideration of approval of the application and
opportunity to comment, request a hearing, and petition for leave to
intervene on the application was published in the Federal Register (FR)
on June 4, 2026 (91 FR 33772). The NRC did not receive any comments or
hearing requests on the application.
Under 10 CFR 50.80 and 10 CFR 72.50, no license for a production or
utilization facility or ISFSI, or any right thereunder, shall be
transferred, either voluntarily or involuntarily, directly or
indirectly, through transfer of control of the license to any person,
unless the Commission gives its consent in writing. Upon review of the
information in the application, and other information before the
Commission, the NRC staff has determined that the proposed indirect
transfer of control of PNM's possession-only non-operating interests in
the licenses is acceptable. The proposed transferee is qualified to be
the indirect holder of the licenses, and the indirect transfer of the
licenses is otherwise consistent with applicable provisions of law,
regulations, and orders issued by the Commission pursuant thereto.
The findings set forth above are supported by an NRC staff safety
evaluation dated the same date as this Order, which is available at
ADAMS Accession No. ML26197A235.
III.
Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, and 184 of the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2201(b), 2201(i), and 2234;
and 10 CFR 50.80 and 10 CFR 72.50, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the
application regarding the proposed indirect transfer of control is
approved for Palo Verde Units 1, 2, and 3 and the Palo Verde ISFSI.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that after receipt of all required regulatory
approvals of the proposed indirect transfer action, the applicant shall
inform the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation in
writing of such receipt prior to the closing of the indirect transfer.
Should the proposed indirect transfer not be completed within 1 year
from the date of this Order, this Order shall become null and void,
provided, however, that upon written application and for good cause
shown, such date may be extended by order.
This Order is effective upon issuance.
For further details with respect to this Order, see the application
dated April 24, 2026, and the NRC staff safety evaluation dated the
same date as this Order, which are available for public inspection
electronically through ADAMS in the NRC Library at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who
encounter problems accessing the documents located in ADAMS should
contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff by telephone
at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737 or by email to [email protected].
Dated: August 18, 2026.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/
Mahmoud Jardaneh,
[[Page 54768]]
Acting Director, Division of Licensing Projects I, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2026-17244 Filed 8-21-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P