ALBUQUERQUE – A group of shareholders wants the state’s largest electric provider to prepare a report about how the investor-owned utility plans to deal with waste generated by its coal-fired power plant in northwestern New Mexico.
The shareholders say the San Juan Generating Station produced more than 1 million tons of coal ash in 2017. It’s used to backfill the mine that feeds the plant, but they have concerns about future liabilities , citing contamination in other states.
U.S. coal plants generate about 100 million tons of ash annually. An Associated Press analysis of data released by utilities last year showed widespread evidence of groundwater contamination around coal plants nationwide.
Public Service Co. of New Mexico plans to shutter San Juan in 2022 and recoup the decommissioning costs from customers through rates.
