Full Text
UTAH llcOLO. 0 F FARMINGTON ARIZ. April29, 2015 The Honorable Lynda Lovejoy District #4 Commissioner and Vice-Chair New Mexico Public Regulation Commission P.O. Box 1269 Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504 Re: PRC Case No. 13-00390-UT Dear Commissioner Lovejoy: 800 Municipal Drive Farmington, NM 87 401-2663 (505) 599-1103 Fax: (505) 599-8430 www .fmtn.org email: troberts@ fmtn.org The purpose of this letter is to urge your support for the provisions of the Stipulated Settlement Agreement (SSA) that is the subject of the above-referenced case and, more specifically, to request that you vote to approve the SSA when that opportunity is presented to the Public Regulation Commission (PRC). As decision makers ourselves - with constituencies that live, work, and play within a geographic area that falls within the boundaries of your PRC Commission District and, therefore, is a part of your constituency, as well - we can understand the magnitude of the decision with which you are confronted. But, in our collective opinion, it is a decision that is relatively easy to make; provided, however, that one can move beyond the misrepresentations and emotional appeals that have been brought to the public forum and ultimately make a decision based on objective analysis. Clearly, the provisions of the SSA provide an extremely balanced approach to the issue of the future operation of SJGS and the impact of that operation on the surrounding communities. Those provisions accommodate the legitimate concerns that have been expressed regarding the physical health of our citizens and the environmental and economic health of our communities. A number of conclusions regarding the balanced nature of the SSA can be fairly drawn from the testimony and evidence that have been introduced in this case and that you will consider in making your decision. Among them are that: Environmental Protection Agency emission standards will be met, with significant room to spare; electric utility rates for customers of Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) will be lower than would be the case under any other go-forward scenario; PNM's reliance on coal as a fuel source for generation purposes at SJGS will be reduced by 37%, and overall reliance on coal at SJGS will be cut by 50% OFFICE of the MAYOR ---PAGE BREAK--- (notwithstanding the blatantly bad-faith and false representations of some in the environmental advocacy community that PNM will be doubling or tripling down on coal use); and upwards of 750 high-paying, economic based jobs will be preserved -jobs having an aggregate value of anywhere between $60-$80 million, and most of which are populated by Native Americans who live in and adjacent to our City and in your Commission District. In short, it is fair and reasonable to conclude that this plan will be beneficial for all concerned - environmentalists, communities, businesses, families, and workers, alike. The City of Farmington's support for the provisions of the SSA and for the continued operation of SJGS is strong and unwavering. It is not just about the importance of SJGS to our economic well-being, though that is a very, very important consideration. It is also about our status as the owner and operator of our own electric utility and our responsibility and mission to provide electric service to our customers as cost effectively and efficiently as possible. That is a responsibility and mission we take seriously and, we are pleased to say, one that we have consistently satisfied over many years as a service provider. But, we think that our ability to continue to satisfy that responsibility and mission is directly related to the continued viability of SJGS and the continued security and integrity of our current ownership of 43 megawatts of power in Unit 4. That coal resource has been and will continue to be an extremely important and integral part of our power generation portfolio - a point of emphasis that we make to debunk the effort of the environmental lobby to characterize the recent decision by the City of Farmington not to acquire additional capacity in Unit 4 as an indictment of coal. In conclusion, we do not envy the position you are in. But, we do empathize with you. We simply ask that you embrace a thoughtful, rational, reasonable, and balanced approach to problem solving. We ask that you vote to approve the provisions of the SSA. Respectfully submitted with the unanimous concurrence of the Farmington City Council, ~ Tommy Roberts Mayor