A coalition of groups, including Tó Nizhóní Ání and the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest, has formally asked Arizona utility regulators to provide economic resources for communities near closed coal-fired power plants.
It comes after the Corporation Commission denied more than $100 million in assistance to Navajo and Hopi communities along with Holbrook and other areas where job loss has resulted from plants shutting down earlier than expected.
The Navajo Generating Station in Page closed in 2019, causing the losses of tens of millions of dollars in coal royalties for tribes.
The Cholla Power Plant will shut down next year, which advocates say could result in $20 million in lost property tax for the Joseph City unified School District.
Arizona Public Service Co. co-owned NGS and owns Cholla and proposed a $116 million plan to help communities, which was rejected by the commission last month.
There are four coal-fired power plants currently operating in Arizona, which could all close in the coming years.