A company that was considering the purchase of the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) in Page has announced that they are no longer interested in purchasing the coal-fired power plant. According to a press release by Salt River Project (SRP), the Illinois-based Middle River Power and Avenue Capital Group made the announcement late last month.
What this means is that the plant will likely shut down after Dec. 22 of 2019 when the current owners discontinue their ownership of the plant.
According to the press release, in February of 2017, the current utility owners of the nearly 50-year-old plant made the difficult decision to end their participation in NGS when the current term of their lease with the Navajo Nation ends in 2019. This was after it became clear that current and forecasted natural gas prices had made coal-fired generation at NGS uneconomical.
The impact of this closure is substantial, not only due to the loss of jobs in the region but also to the sales tax and property tax generated for Navajo County by the operation of the Peabody Coal Mine, which supplies the plant.
Navajo County Manager Glenn Kephart responded to the notice stating, “This is very unfortunate as it means that the Navajo Generating Station and subsequently the Peabody Coal mine in Kayenta will most assuredly be closing next year. In addition to the closures of NGS and the Kayenta mine, the Cholla Power plant is also scheduled to close in the next few years. This is going to be a very difficult transition for the economy of the entire region and Navajo County.”
It is estimated that these closures will result in the loss of $2.5 million of revenue to the county every year. County administrators have proposed a jail tax that will be on November ballot that is estimated to make up for the loss in revenues and prevent the county from making drastic cuts to its workforce and services.
