Coal miners will rally Saturday in Farmington in support of PNM plan

Area coal mine workers will gather on Saturday at a local car dealership to raise awareness about their work and livelihoods. The rally has been organized by economic development officials and members of Operating Engineers Local 953, an international trade union of laborers, engineers and construction workers that represents miners at San Juan and Navajo mines. The event is spurred by an ongoing case before the state Public Regulation Commission over a plan by Public Service Company of New Mexico to shut down two units at San Juan Generating Station and retrofit the plant's other two stacks. On Wednesday, the PRC, the regulatory body tasked with approving or denying the plan, gave the utility until July 1 to complete and supply an ownership restructuring agreement and coal supply contract so the PRC can complete its evaluation of the company. The commission's decision, which is expected later this year, will ultimately decide the fate of the workers at the Waterflow power plant and the coal mine that fuels it...more