FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SANTA FE, N.M. – Today, PNM filed to abandon San Juan Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant in the Four Corners region. Conservation Voters New Mexico (CVNM) Political and Legislative Director Ben Shelton issued the following statement:
“PNM’s filing is a start toward meeting the goals of the Energy Transition Act – to move New Mexico forward on climate change, stabilize electricity costs and protect communities and workers in the Four Corners area.
“The process to determine the replacement power for the retiring San Juan Generating Station has just begun and will be months long. Throughout, CVNM will push PNM & the Public Regulation Commission to implement the Energy Transition Act in a way that protects public health, our climate and stabilize rates over the long term.”
“We are skeptical of the need for natural gas that the replacement power plan articulates and we look forward to the PRC ultimately approving a plan that includes the minimum amount of natural gas necessary to guarantee the reliable integration of the most clean energy and storage possible, especially in San Juan County.”
“If the PRC allows PNM to overinvest in natural gas 21 years before PNM has committed to having 100% carbon-free energy, there’s the potential for us to be in a position where PNM ratepayers have to figure out how to deal with another stranded asset in the form of a potentially uneconomical gas plant.”
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Contact: Liliana Castillo at 505-819-7508 or liliana@cvnm.org.
