FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
APRIL 9, 2015
Contact:
Shane Levy, Sierra Club – (201) 679-9507, shane.levy@sierraclub.org
Sandy Bahr, Sierra Club – (602) 999-5790, sandy.bahr@sierraclub.org
Risks Grow to Tucson Ratepayers as TEP’s San Juan Generating Station Faces New Hurdles
New Mexico Public Regulation Commission Examiner Recommends Regulators Reject PNM’s Plans To Continue Burning Coal at San Juan Generating Station
TUCSON– The Public Service Company of New Mexico’s (PNM) plans to continue burning coal at the San Juan Generating Station hit another hurdle yesterday when a New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) hearing examiner recommended that the commissioners reject PNM’s request to continue burning coal at the plant. The recommendation highlights the enormous risk to Tucson Electric Power and local ratepayers, as the utility owns half of one unit of the dirty, out-of-state coal-fired power plant. A copy of the recommendation can be found here.
In his recommendation to the PRC commissioners, the independent hearing examiner overseeing PNM’s request to the Commission, found that PNM’s proposal to acquire an increased portion of the San Juan Generating Station “is not fair, just and reasonable and in the public interest.” He specifically cited to concerns raised during the proceeding regarding the reliability of San Juan Generating Station, the future ownership of the plant after a contract expires in 2022, and uncertainty about where the plant will get its coal after a supply agreement expires in 2017.
In response, Sandy Bahr, chapter director for Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon (Arizona) Chapter, issued the following statement:
“TEP should exit San Juan Generating station now. By continuing reliance on an expensive out-of-state polluting coal plant, TEP is risking our community’s future, making us vulnerable to more coal and expensive rate hikes that threaten our economy and our families’ budgets. The risks and costs to Tucson families and ratepayers will only grow unless we act now to protect our community. TEP should say no to more coal and yes to locally-produced clean energy such as solar.”
Background
Over the past few months, support for continued burning of coal at the San Juan Generating Station has continued to erode. Admissions by PNM have revealed serious financial risks for the future of the plant. The home city of the plant, Farmington, New Mexico, abandoned its plans to acquire an increased portion of the plant due to reliability concerns and the huge costs to the community. Other New Mexico stakeholders have also pulled away from an agreement that would continue PNM’s use of coal at the plant, citing the overall uncertainty about San Juan’s operations. Now, the PRC’s examiner is rejecting the proposal to continue coal burning as well.
There have been ongoing local calls for TEP to divest from the San Juan Generating Station as well. In February, groups in Tucson asked TEP to exit the plant. They included Sierra Club, Tierra Y Libertad Organization, Robert Bulechek Energy Management, Borderlands Brewing Co., Solar Possibilities Consulting, Sustainable Tucson, Casa Maria Tucson, 350.org Tucson, Center for Biological Diversity, Sky Island Alliance, Southern Arizona Green for All Coalition, Unitarian Universalist Justice Arizona Network (UUJAZ), Watershed Management Group, Wild Earth Guardians, and Great Old Broads for Wilderness - Phoenix/Tucson Broad Band.
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