February 14, 2018 • Regional News
ABQ Journal: PNM blames environmental group for death of coal bill
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Public Service Co. of New Mexico wants to stir a public backlash against the Santa Fe-based environmental group New Energy Economy for its role in defeating a legislative bill this month that could have accelerated the utility’s replacement of coal-fired generation with renewable energy.
In a full-page ad in The Santa Fe New Mexican on Wednesday, PNM offered the group a tongue-in-cheek “congratulations” on the defeat of Senate Bill 47, which would have allowed the utility to recover all its investments in abandoned coal plants by selling low-cost bonds to investors and then using the proceeds to build a lot more renewable generation.
The group led a coalition of 40 grassroots organizations against the bill, which it called a ratepayer “bailout” that would have rewarded PNM for “bad business decisions” to continue investing in coal in recent years.
That helped sway the Senate Conservation Committee, which voted 5-4 on Feb. 3 to table the bill, effectively killing it in this year’s session.
Despite the NEE-led opposition, nearly a dozen other prominent environmental organizations participated in negotiations with PNM, leading to amendments to the proposed legislation that would have committed PNM to procure at least 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and established a $19 million economic development fund to help San Juan County buffer the impact of coal-plant shutdowns.
In its ad, PNM said New Energy Economy worked to undermine those efforts, thus rejecting an “unprecedented opportunity” to accelerate renewable development, turning its back on “vital” economic assistance for San Juan’s workforce, and “missing out on a historic opportunity to make New Mexico a leader in sustainable energy.”
Source: https://www.abqjournal.com/1133670/pnm-blames-environmental-group-for-death-of-coal-bill.html
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