San Juan Powerhouse

San Juan Powerhouse

300 Rd. 6800, Fruitland, NM 87416

The San Juan Powerhouse (Generating Station) is primarily owned by Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM). The four Units were placed in service in, 1973, 1976, 1979, and 1982.

The San Juan coal-fired power plant, located in northwestern New Mexico in the midst of the Navajo Nation, provides about a third of New Mexico’s power.  In 2012, the owners of the plant were told to reduce toxic air emissions from the four coal-fired, pressurized Units by the EPA.

An agreement was made to retrofit two of the four Units at the plant, and retire the remaining two by the end of 2017. The future of the plant remains uncertain and contracts will be evaluated in 2018. These two contracts for the remaining two Units will expire in 2022, which could lead to the future retirement of the plant.

Exposure information for power plants/steam plants: 

Steam generated power plants in the 1950s through the 1970s commonly utilized asbestos containing pipe insulation and insulating cements on steam lines running throughout a plant. Steam was used to run turbines, which in turn generated electricity.  Asbestos gaskets and rope packing were typically used in this era on steam flanges and steam powered equipment such as pumps, valves, turbines and boilers. Asbestos fireproofing was also commonly used on steel surfaces in power plants.