Raton Public Service Company

Raton Public Service Company is the energy utility serving the city of Raton, New Mexico.

Raton plant idled
The Raton Power Plant stopped generating electricity in February 2006 after the coal source dried up and Raton Public Service Company (RPS) was unable to find any other coal sources at similar prices, according to owner RPS.

The Lamar Coal Plant
In 2006 the city of Raton approved the Arkansas River Power Authority (ARPA)'s plan to to convert Lamar's gas-fired power plant, built in 1972, to a coal-fired plant and expand it, the Lamar Light & Power / Arkansas River Power Authority project. Raton was the last member city needed to approve the project, despite questioning the project's estimated $66 million cost, plus $10 million in contingency funding. In 2007 Raton rejected spending another $18 million on the plant. By the time the plant was online in 2009 both ARPA and Raton had filed federal lawsuits against each other over the costs that the city of Raton must pay. Raton contends ARPA breached its contract with the city by "failing to properly budget for" the project. Original cost estimates for the project were in the $65 million-$75 million range, but the final cost was $130 million. ARPA's lawsuit sought a court order requiring the city to pay a larger share of the project than Raton contends it should have to pay.

Contact Details
Raton Public Service Company 344 N 2nd St Raton, NM 87740 Phone: (575) 445-9861

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