Raton Public Service Company

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Raton Public Service Company is the energy utility serving the city of Raton, New Mexico.

Existing Coal Plants

Plant Name State Year(s) Built Capacity
B.L. Raton Power Plant NM 1961 7.5 MW

Raton plant idled

The Raton Power Plant stopped generating electricity in February 2006 after the coal source dried up and Raton Public Service Company (RPS) was unable to find any other coal sources at similar prices, according to owner RPS.[1]

The Lamar Coal Plant

In 2006 the city of Raton approved the Arkansas River Power Authority (ARPA)'s plan to to convert Lamar's gas-fired power plant, built in 1972, to a coal-fired plant and expand it, the Lamar Light & Power / Arkansas River Power Authority project. Raton was the last member city needed to approve the project, despite questioning the project's estimated $66 million cost, plus $10 million in contingency funding. In 2007 Raton rejected spending another $18 million on the plant. By the time the plant was online in 2009 both ARPA and Raton had filed federal lawsuits against each other over the costs that the city of Raton must pay. Raton contends ARPA breached its contract with the city by "failing to properly budget for" the project. Original cost estimates for the project were in the $65 million-$75 million range, but the final cost was $130 million. ARPA's lawsuit sought a court order requiring the city to pay a larger share of the project than Raton contends it should have to pay.[2]

Contact Details

Raton Public Service Company
344 N 2nd St
Raton, NM 87740
Phone: (575) 445-9861

Articles and Resources

Sources

  1. Todd Wildermuth, "RPS eyes alternate power sources: Raton's power plant stopped producing electricity in February 2006," The Raton Range, July 8, 2008.
  2. Anthony Mestas,"Power plant expansion dedicated in Lamar" The Pueblo Chieftain, May 1, 2009

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