As warned by many pro-energy groups, including the most vocal Power the Future, which as foretold of brownouts due to Gov. Lujan Grisham’s Green New Deal, that stark reality is likely coming true, according to the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM).
In August of 2020, a little over one year after New Mexico passed its “Energy Transition Act,” also known as the “Green New Deal,” Larry Behrens, western states director for Power the Future warned, “New Mexico’s families must continue to face the real consequences of pushing an agenda that doesn’t provide power when we need it most.”
Behrens reacted to the news, writing, “Warnings of brownouts are just the latest in a list of failures brought on by this forced transition. Electric rates are also on the rise and New Mexicans are set to lose their jobs simply because this law was rushed through so quickly that supporters didn’t want to acknowledge the predictable consequences. New Mexico’s leaders need to listen to the warnings, put aside their special interests and plan to deliver reliable electricity before it’s too late.”
In northeast New Mexico, the Energy Transition Act has forced the closure of the San Juan Generating Station by PNM, leaving countless New Mexicans without jobs and only around 80 employees able to retire. “For the rest of the employees, though, they’re going to have to go find some other form of employment,” said plant manager Omni Warner.
Even far-left enviro-Marxist groups have begged the Legislature to make changes to the Energy Transition Act before it completely wrecks the state.
But the pleas from the left and the right have fallen on deaf ears, and now the corrosive piece of legislation may force PNM to rely on a “brownout” next summer due to the “energy lost with the anticipated closure of the coal-fueled” San Juan Generating Station, reports the Santa Fe New Mexican.
Brownouts entail a drop in voltage in the electrical power supply system, which could mean dimmer lights and lower power levels for New Mexicans. According to PNM spokesman Ray Sandoval says that PNM “generally has a 2,000-megawatt system with about 500 megawatts provided by the San Juan Generating Station.”
With the closure of the San Juan Generating Station, it has purged countless jobs, with only around 80 employees able to retire. “For the rest of the employees, though, they’re going to have to go find some other form of employment,” said plant manager Omni Warner.
Now, as well as a loss of jobs, the closure of the San Juan Generating Station means a loss of 500 megawatts of energy to New Mexico. When asked what options PNM has, executive Tom Fallgren said, “We are looking at any and all options. … And we continue to beat the bushes, so to say, for other opportunities as well.”
As for the other effects of New Mexico’s Green New Deal, other than brownouts and lost jobs, electric utilities, including XCEL Energy, are asking to raise rates on their customers because of the Energy Transition Act, passing off large costs back to the consumers.
Left-wing environmentalists will claim that the massive uptick in unemployment rates is all related to the pandemic and not Lujan Grisham’s Green New Deal. However, New Mexico’s neighboring state of Texas has gained energy jobs every single month since last September, unlike New Mexico.
New Mexico is bleeding cash by the day as the Governor’s assault on the energy industry worsens. New Mexicans are being laid off with no fallback other than the state’s flailing unemployment system run by Lujan Grisham’s cabinet appointees.
Now, New Mexicans will be seeing brownouts in their future, and this is just the tip of the iceberg regarding New Mexico’s energy future.
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