SRP, Owners To Vote On Future Of Coal-Fired Plant
The fate of the Navajo Generating Station could soon be decided.
Owners of the massive coal-fired plant have been under mounting pressure to keep it operating past 2019 when the lease with the Navajo Nation expires. Salt River Project has the largest ownership stake and has said that cheap natural gas has made the plant less economically viable.
On Monday, SRP and the other owners — Arizona Public Service, NV Energy and Tucson Electric Power — are expected to vote on whether or not to renew the lease.
It’s estimated that 3,000 Navajo jobs could be in jeopardy if the plant closes. SRP spokesman Scott Harelson says if they decide not to renew the lease, the owners would at least like to keep it open until that expires.
"That would then allow for three years of additional employment and revenues for the (Navajo) Nation and provide them with the ability to preserve options on what to do with that property, with that plant, at the end of 2019,” Harelson said.
The federal government also owns a portion of the plant, which supplies energy to deliver Colorado River water through the Central Arizona Project’s canal system.
