It was once a solid plan to enhance grid reliability and deliver affordable energy and jobs to New Mexico. Now the Kit Carson battery storage project is one of a long list of projects stalled by President Trump.
The big picture: The move put more than 50 members of Albuquerque, N.M. Local 611 out of work, and dealt another blow to the region’s hopes for low-cost power amid spiking prices and high demand, Business Manager Alfonso Martinez Jr. told senators at a Jan. 29 roundtable.
“What this means for our local – on top of putting folks directly out of work – is that a steady pipeline of highly skilled workers cannot be built without project certainty,” Martinez said. “We can’t bring in and train apprentices.”
New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich hosted the event, which included several members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, to highlight how Trump’s action to kill more than 500 clean energy projects have raised utility costs on working families.
Although Trump promised to cut electricity prices in half, they have risen 13% nationwide since he took office, Heinrich said.
“Instead of saving money, hard-working Americans around the country are wondering how they’re even going to keep the lights on and the heat running this year,” he said. “At a time when we need the cheapest electrons on the grid, the president is taking every opportunity to stop electrons from reaching the grid altogether.”
The demand for electricity is exceeding supply, with growth from data centers, artificial intelligence, and manufacturing rising faster than generation and transmission can be built.
Zoom out: The North American Electric Reliability Corp. recently released a report describing how rising electricity demand is threatening grid reliability, especially during winter.
Republicans cancelled federal tax credits that put IBEW members to work and invested in modernizing the grid. In early 2025, Trump cut billions of dollars in funding for energy projects. Now a bipartisan proposal is circulating on Capitol Hill to restrain a president’s ability to interfere in the permitting process for political reasons.
Yes, and: “The construction industry thrives on certainty, but everything that has happened over the last year has caused chaos and uncertainty,” Martinez said. “The bottom line is that the Trump administration is failing the American people.”
Photo caption: At a Washington, D.C. briefing, Albuquerque, N.M. Local 611 business manager Alfonso Martinez told senators that cancelled energy projects mean out-of-work electricians.