PNM repairing damage to San Juan generator
Coal silo accident sent Unit 1 offline
Public Service Company of New Mexico says a generating unit at the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station near Farmington that was shut down by an industrial accident in March will be back online by June 15.
A coal silo, or storage tower, that served Unit 1 collapsed on March 17, causing a fire and damage. That 340-megawatt unit has been offline since, although the plant’s other generating arm, Unit 4, remains in operation.
Units two and three were permanently closed last December to comply with federal environmental regulations.
Total costs for damages are still unknown, but PNM says insurance will pay for all repairs and replacement parts for the coal silo and adjacent facilities, with the exception of a $2 million deductible the utility must cover. That will come out of PNM’s current operations and maintenance budget, spokesman Pahl Shipley said.
“All the out-of-pocket costs will be covered by the existing budget, which means there will be no change in customer rates,” he said.
Inspection of all coal silos connected to both San Juan generating units, as well as the Unit 1 turbine and equipment, will be finished by May 30, with the generator back online before summer peak demand sets in, Thomas Fallgren, vice-president for generation, said in an April 13 letter to the Public Regulation Commission’s utility division.
Meanwhile, natural gas-fired generation from other PNM plants is covering any additional electric demand not met by San Juan Unit 4.
Environmental organizations, however, want PNM to answer more questions about what caused the coal silo collapse and the total cost of damages at the plant. Nine groups led by Santa Fe-based New Energy Economy filed a joint petition with the PRC on Thursday requesting an investigation, including a cost-benefit analysis to determine if any further investment in San Juan is merited given PNM’s plan to shut down the facility in 2022.
“An event of this magnitude needs a cost-benefit analysis,” said NEE Executive Director Mariel Nanasi. “We really have no idea of the full costs or what even happened, and we don’t want PNM to throw good money after bad at San Juan.”