New Mexico authorities approve request to abandon San Juan coal-fired station

The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission approved a request to abandon the San Juan Generating Station, a coal-fired electricity plant.

PNM, the utility that ran the facility, filed a request on July 1, 2019, to abandon the site in June 2022 upon the expiration of coal supply agreements, securitization of the unrecovered investment in the plant, and approvals for replacement power resources.

“We are pleased with the decision by the Commission and the Hearing Examiners’ recommended decisions to approve the abandonment and securitization of San Juan,” Pat Vincent-Collawn, PNM Resources chairman, president and CEO, said. “Our customers, communities, and environment will benefit as we move to exit all of our coal-fired generation and replace it with lower-cost, cleaner energy resources. Our focus will now turn to an early exit of the Four Corners Power Plant, and we will look for the right opportunities to execute on this.”

PNM remains committed to exiting its coal-fired plants, including its interest in the coal-fired Four Corners Power Plant. While the Four Corners ownership and coal supply agreements currently expire in 2031, PNM sees the savings and benefits in exiting sooner.

Further, an earlier exit from Four Corners opens the door for PNM to bring additional renewable resources onto its grid in support of New Mexico’s renewable energy standards and goal of carbon-free energy.

PNM Resources, an energy holding company based in Albuquerque, N.M., has approximately 2,761 megawatts of generation capacity and provides electricity to about 789,000 homes and businesses in New Mexico and Texas.