{"id":43211,"date":"2021-12-16T16:38:09","date_gmt":"2021-12-16T23:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/new-mexico-regulators-deny-utilitys-exit-from-coal-plant\/"},"modified":"2021-12-16T23:38:09","modified_gmt":"2021-12-16T23:38:09","slug":"new-mexico-regulators-deny-utilitys-exit-from-coal-plant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/new-mexico-regulators-deny-utilitys-exit-from-coal-plant\/","title":{"rendered":"New Mexico regulators deny utility\u2019s exit from coal plant"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The
The Four Corners Power Plant in Waterflow, N.M., near the San Juan River in northwestern New Mexico. (Susan Montoya Bryan\/Associated Press file)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SANTA FE \u2013 New Mexico regulators have denied a request by the state\u2019s largest electric provider to divest itself from one of the Southwest\u2019s few remaining coal-fired power plants by transferring its shares to a Navajo energy company.<\/p>\n

The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission on Wednesday voted unanimously to reject the plan, saying Public Service Co. of New Mexico didn\u2019t specify how the lost power would be replaced.<\/p>\n

Commissioners also had concerns about investments that the utility known as PNM sought to recover through bonds that would be paid back by customers over a 25-year period.<\/p>\n

The utility could appeal the decision or it could come back to the commission with more information.<\/p>\n

The decision marked the commission\u2019s second major rejection involving PNM in recent weeks. Regulators also denied a proposed multibillion-dollar acquisition of PNM by global energy giant Iberdrola and its U.S. subsidiary, Connecticut-based Avangrid.<\/p>\n

Supporters of PNM\u2019s exit from the coal plant named Four Corners Power Plant had argued that the move would translate into savings for customers, reduce emissions from the utility\u2019s portfolio and strengthen the Navajo Nation\u2019s position when it comes to determining the future of the plant.<\/p>\n

Environmentalists had criticized the proposed transfer, suggesting it would prevent an early closure. However, there hasn\u2019t been any willingness by the plant\u2019s majority owner \u2013 Arizona Public Service Co. \u2013 to end operations before 2031 because doing so could undermine the reliability of that utility’s network.<\/p>\n

The commission deliberated the power plant issue behind closed doors for hours. Chairman Stephen Fischmann said after Wednesday\u2019s vote that the panel lacked information needed to make a good decision and that the commission was open to PNM following up with details.<\/p>\n

PNM officials called the vote disconcerting, saying that after months of proceedings that the outcome created uncertainty about the regulatory environment in New Mexico and that it made the company\u2019s transition to more renewable energy more difficult.<\/p>\n

PNM President and CEO Pat Vincent-Collawn pointed to New Mexico\u2019s Energy Transition Act, saying the commission ignored the law’s requirements for balancing shareholder responsibility, customer savings, economic aid and environmental benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will need to carefully review the order rejecting abandonment to determine next steps, including a possible appeal to the New Mexico Supreme Court,\u201d she said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Under the proposal, Navajo Transitional Energy Co., known as NTEC, would have taken over PNM\u2019s interest in Four Corners, becoming the second largest owner of shares in the plant. PNM shareholders would have paid NTEC $75 million to assume its obligations under a coal supply agreement.<\/p>\n

By transferring its shares, PNM could have exited Four Corners about seven years ahead of its previously scheduled departure and would have been closer to meeting New Mexico renewable energy and emissions mandates. The Energy Transition Act requires public utilities to be carbon free by 2045.<\/p>\n

Located on tribal land, the Four Corners plant has been a huge economic driver for the Navajo Nation for decades. The plant and the neighboring mine that feeds it provide hundreds of jobs for tribal members and the operations account for nearly a quarter of the Navajo Nation\u2019s annual general fund revenues.<\/p>\n

Navajo President Jonathan Nez and other tribal leaders spoke in favor of PNM\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we determine how to transition to a post-coal economy, we continue to rely on these jobs and revenue for the foreseeable future,\u201d Nez said. \u201cThis is not going to be an easy task.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Four Corners Power Plant in Waterflow, N.M., near the San Juan River in northwestern New Mexico. (Susan Montoya Bryan\/Associated Press file)du1-i-syn SANTA FE \u2013 New Mexico regulators have denied a request by the state\u2019s largest electric provider to divest itself from one of the Southwest\u2019s few remaining coal-fired power plants by transferring its shares […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[815],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-43211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-associated-press-new-mexico"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43211\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43211"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=43211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}