© 2024 KRWG
News that Matters.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

New Mexico Regulators Delay Power Plant Decision

Four Corners Power Plant. Photo courtesy of EcoFlight and San Juan Citizens Alliance

New Mexico regulators are giving Public Service Co. of New Mexico more time to ink agreements with a mining company, delaying a decision on whether to approve a plan to close part of the San Juan Generating Station.

The Public Regulation Commission voted 4-1 during its meeting Wednesday.

Commissioner Valerie Espinoza voted against extending the deadline for PNM, suggesting the utility was trying to submit new evidence in hopes of getting a different outcome.

Two units of the coal-fired power plant in northwest New Mexico would be closed under a settlement aimed at curbing haze-causing pollution in the Four Corners region.

The utility, business groups and environmentalists disagree about the best way to fill the void left by the partial closure, and concerns have been raised about the lack of a contract to supply coal to the plant.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.