An environmental group says members of a powerful New Mexico regulatory body are too "chummy" with utility executives and should not be making any decisions about the fate of a coal-fired power plant that serves customers around the Southwest.
Santa Fe-based New Energy Economy filed a motion late Wednesday with the Public Regulation Commission, seeking the recusal of four of the panel's five members.
The motion hinges on numerous emails and phone calls that make reference to private meetings, dinners, coffee dates and invitations to conferences and sporting events.
A commission spokesman says the motion was being reviewed by legal counsel.
The commission is considering a plan by PNM that calls for shuttering part of the San Juan Generating Station and replacing the lost capacity with a mix of coal, nuclear, natural gas and renewable energy.
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