Albuquerque City Council withdraws support for PNM's plan to close units at San Juan Generating StationApr 8 - McClatchy-Tribune Content Agency, LLC - James Fenton The Daily Times, Farmington, N.M.
Albuquerque officials voted on Monday to withdraw support for Public Service Company of New Mexico's current plan to close two units at San Juan Generating Station. By a vote of 6 to 3, city councilors adopted a resolution directing the city of Albuquerque to withdraw its support for PNM's plan, which would replace two stacks' worth of lost power with a combination of natural gas, nuclear energy and solar energy at the aging, coal-fired generating station in Waterflow. Republican Councilor Brad Winter sponsored the resolution. He and five Democrats on the council voted in favor of withdrawing support for the Revised State Implementation Plan, which was submitted in October to the state Public Regulation Commission. Miller's resolution adds the state's largest city to the list of groups against the plan, including the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico Independent Power Producers, Western Resource Advocates and the Renewable Energy Industry Association of New Mexico. Miller's wife, Nann Winter, is an attorney for the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, which withdrew its support for the plan in January. Miller could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. The resolution cited the plan's potential for rate increases, compounded by "numerous mistakes in the cost-modeling and economics of fuel costs," as primary reasons to abandon support. Pahl Shipley, a spokesman for PNM, said the vote against the plan was the result of misinformation, not facts. "We believe that during the hearing at the PRC, the company clearly demonstrated that the Revised State Implementation Plan provides the most environmental protection at the least cost to customers," Shipley said in an email on Tuesday. "No one, including the City of Albuquerque, has offered a viable plan that provides the same level of benefits at a lower cost. It's unfortunate that a majority of councilors approved a resolution not fully based on facts, and includes misinformation provided by PNM opponents whose agenda does not consider the best interests of PNM customers or the City of Albuquerque." PNM's revised plan includes a renewable component, installation of nitrogen oxide emissions reduction technology on units No. 1 and No. 4 at the generating station and closure of units No. 2 and No. 3 to meet federal regulations on pollution. But keeping 740 jobs in San Juan County is what drove Ray Hagerman, CEO of Four Corners Economic Development, to address the council at the late Monday night meeting in Albuquerque. Those 740 jobs include 340 power plant workers and 400 coal miners. "What I told them was it was incredibly important that they consider the human cost to any decision they make," Hagerman said in a phone interview on Tuesday. "Yes, there might be some ultimate rise in PNM rates (as a result of the plan) ... but we're talking about 740 good-paying jobs. I can't go out and recruit 740, $75,000-a-year jobs fast enough. It's just impossible. That's the kind of blow we can't absorb in San Juan County." Hagerman said he was the only person he heard at the meeting who deviated from the discussion over pollution and rate hikes and addressed the potential payroll loss of $88 million the remaining two units represent. "Anything like (the council's vote) at this juncture is detrimental to the process and simply clouds the issue again," Hagerman said. "It creates more uncertainty for the power plant, and, frankly, in a situation like this, you have one city pitted against another. We're already going to lose about 100 jobs from these two units. It's not like we're not giving blood here." The PRC is expected to issue its decision by May 1. James Fenton is the business editor of The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4621 and jfenton@daily-times.com. Follow him @fentondt on Twitter. http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=35759588 |