Date: March 17, 2018
Location: San Juan, New Mexico (USA)
Address: 6800 N County Rd, San Juan, NM 87421
Type: Explosion
Fuel: Coal Dust
Industry: Power Generation
Equipment: Coal Silo
Company: Public Service Company of New Mexico
Previous Incidents: None Reported
Loss: No Injuries
Capital Cost: Between $15-20 million
Status: Open
Confirmation: Unconfirmed
Company Description:
According to the company website, the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) was originally founded in 1917 as the Albuquerque Gas and Electric Company, although its roots can be traced to 1882 when electric and gas operations began in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
As the state’s largest electricity provider, PNM serves more than 500,000 New Mexico residential and business customers in Greater Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Los Lunas and Belen, Santa Fe, Las Vegas, Alamogordo, Ruidoso, Silver City, Deming, Bayard, Lordsburg and Clayton. They also supply the New Mexico tribal communities of the Tesuque, Cochiti, Santo Domingo, San Felipe, Santa Ana, Sandia, Isleta and Laguna Pueblos.
The company is committed to preserving the environment. By working through their Energy Efficiency program, they have reduced their power consumption by the equivalent of the energy consumed by 378,000 homes per year. Since 2007, their energy efficiency programs have reduced enough electricity to conserve more than 876 million gallons of water and prevent more than 1.6 metric tons of carbon emissions.
Description of Fire and Explosion due to Coal Silo Collapse
On April 25, 2018, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported that New Mexico regulators had given the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) 13 days to explain the cause of a coal silo collapse which occurred on March 17, 2018, causing an explosion and fire near Unit No. 1, a 16-story structure that produces 340 megawatts of power at the San Juan Generating Station in New Mexico.
According to Wikipedia, the San Juan Generating Station is located 15 miles West of Farmington and is operated by PNM. The power station has been open since 1973.
In an article, New Energy Economy said that since the incident, Unit 1 had been inoperable. The coal silo had a capacity of up to 816 tons of coal and was holding 614 tons when the collapse occurred, causing an explosion. The Public Service Company of New Mexico last carried out an inspection of the unit in 2015.
U.S.News reported that customers had not been affected by the incident and that the utility had plans to close the San Juan plant within the next few years in an effort to eliminate coal resources from its portfolio. Two other units at the San Juan plant had already been closed as part of an agreement to curb haze-causing pollution in the region.
On May 9, 2018, Santa Fe New Mexican published an update reporting on a filing by the electric utility, which had been required by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. The filing confirmed that corrosion and a faulty weld holding two sections of the silo together were the cause of the collapse on March 17, which released 614 tons of coal. Coal dust from the falling coal then exploded, damaging nearby equipment.
No one was injured in the incident, but damage to the unit amounted to between $15 million and $20 million in repair costs.
A PNM spokesman was reported as saying: “It is clear that the most effective path forward is to complete the repairs to the damaged unit and get it back into service,” and that he expected the unit to be back in service in June 2018.
On May 22, 2018, Albuquerque Business First reported on the annual shareholders meeting of the Public Service Company of New Mexico’s parent company, PNM Resources. The CEO, Chairman and President said that utility company was working closely with the city of Albuquerque to implement electric buses and bring solar energy to some city facilities. PNM’s plan to move away from coal included retiring the San Juan Generating Station by 2022, she said.
An establishment search showed that PNM and PNM Resources have had two OSHA inspections for occupational safety and health. Neither of these appears to be related to combustible dust safety.
Sources:
Santa Fe New Mexican (regulators demand answers)
Wikipedia (List of power stations in New Mexico)
New Energy Economy
U.S.News
Santa Fe New Mexican (report on filing by utility)
Albuquerque Business First
OSHA (search for ‘PNM’)
