Possible Explosion Shuts Down PNM SJGS Unit 1, No Injuries

Sunday, March 18, 2018 at 7:45 PM

There were no injuries and all staff were accounted for. San Juan County Fire Department districts one (1) and four (4) responded, along with County Fire staff, Farmington Fire, Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management staff and Tactical Dispatchers from San Juan County Communications Authority.

Update from PNM on 3/20/18:

On Saturday, March 17, there was a structural failure in a coal silo that serves Unit 1 at the San Juan Generating Station. The failure caused a fire that resulted in some damage, limited to the site around the silo.

No injuries were caused by the incident.

The cause is under investigation. Unit 1 will remain off line until all assessments and repairs are complete.

Unit 4 is operating normally and this incident has not affected our ability to serve our customers.

From PNM spokesman Raymond Sandoval on 3/18/18:

Unit 1 (where the incident happened) has been shut down, and Unit 4 is currently running normally. Unit 4 is able to handle to power generation needs at the moment. The original report was of an explosion, but investigators are working to determine what happened.

From San Juan County on 3/18/18:

At approximately 5:47 p.m. on Saturday, March 17, 2018 a possible explosion occurred at the San Juan Generating Station operated by PNM near Farmington, New Mexico. There were no injuries and all staff were accounted for. San Juan County Fire Department districts one (1) and four (4) responded, along with County Fire staff, Farmington Fire, Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management staff and Tactical Dispatchers from San Juan County Communications Authority. No fire suppression was necessary, but fire and emergency management staff remained on site to provide monitoring, rescue back up and support for PNM staff if needed. No root cause has been determined. Planning efforts are underway to complete an investigation into the cause. The power generation plant remains on line. Information will be updated as available.

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