In 2017, majority owner and operator Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) announced that the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station was too expensive to operate and that the last two of the plant’s four units would be retired in 2022, rather than operating until 2053. On-the-ground communities and advocates had long since called attention to the plant’s expense as well as its damage to health, air and our climate.
In 2019, New Mexico passed the Energy Transition Act (ETA) to build on PNM and Tucson Electric’s closure decision by low-interest bonds to save customers money and provide economic transition funding to plant and mine workers and the community. About $40 million in funding through the Energy Transition Act has ...
Ruling preserves $8/month savings for average customer, immediate issuance of community funding when San Juan Generating Station closes Sept. 30
For immediate release: July 21, 2022
The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission on Thursday denied PNM’s motion for a stay on the commission’s June 29 order, meaning the utility must credit customers for the savings from closing the San Juan Generating Station coal-fired power plant. The commissioners said PNM’s motion did not fulfill any of the four requirements for a stay.
The commission in June agreed with environmental and consumer groups and blocked PNM’s plan to keep charging customers for San Juan Generating Station long after the plant is closed, resulting in $134 million in profit for the utility. The ...
Commisison requires PNM to credit customers and issue community funds as soon as San Juan plant closes
The Public Regulation Commission voted 5-0 on June 29 that PNM violated the Energy Transition Act, agreeing with environmental and consumer groups that PNM should not keep charging customers for San Juan Generating Station expenses long after the plant is closed. The commission also required PNM to issue the community and worker funding that would be generated by the Energy Transition bonds as soon as the coal plant closes.
“The ruling means the average PNM customer will see a savings of more than $8 per month, and hundreds of dollars over the next 18 months,” said Ona Porter of Prosperity Works, which advocates ...
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