Tribal leaders call on Salt River Project to keep Navajo Generating Station open

Posted by Navajo Times | Feb 4, 2017 | News |

WINDOW ROCK

Navajo Times | Krista Allen
Lake Powell Country is bracing for the possible shutdown of the Navajo Generating Station located in LeChee, Arizona. The plant supplies about 500 jobs to the area.

Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council LoRenzo Bates and Hopi Tribal Chairman Herman G. Honanie have asked owners of the Navajo Generating Station to keep the coal-powered power plant open.

Bates and Honanie are asking NGS owners to keep the plant in full operation for the benefit of the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe and the state of Arizona, according to a news release.

“We have made it clear to (Salt River Project) that we want the owners of NGS to be upfront, open, and honest in regards to their intentions,” Bates stated. “Decisions need to be made and SRP needs to take into full consideration the impact that a possible closure would have on the economy, jobs and communities that rely on NGS.”

Both tribes have been contacted by SRP representatives regarding the possible closure of NGS due in large to the low cost of natural gas as opposed to coal.

On Wednesday, leaders from the Hopi Tribe and the Navajo Nation Council met in Flagstaff to share their concerns over the possible closure.

NGS and Kayenta Mine, which provides coal to the power plant, provide significant revenues and many jobs for both tribes. In fact, combined revenues from both operations provide more than 80-percent of the Hopi Tribe’s general fund budget.

“The Hopi people are dissatisfied with the lack of transparency from SRP in its recent threats to discontinue NGS,” stated Honanie.