As weather turns colder, NTEC officials expect demand for free coal to increase

Officials at the Navajo Transitional Energy Company anticipate that a coal-giveaway program they have operated for the past several years to help keep Native families warm during the winter could see high demand again this year as the Southwest braces for what could be another snowy season.

The Community Heating Resource Program, which was initiated in 2019 when the Kayenta Mine closed, provides free coal from the Navajo Mine for the people of the Navajo Nation and some Hopi residents. The NTEC-operated mine is located between Kirtland and Waterflow south of U.S. Highway 64 and the San Juan River.

Andy Hawkins, the senior manager for community and government relations at NTEC, said the unseasonably warm and dry fall San Juan County has experienced so far this season has kept participation in the program relatively light. But he anticipates demand will pick up significantly as the weather turns colder and wetter, especially with an El Niño weather pattern having set up in the eastern Pacific Ocean, which often leads to increased precipitation in the American Southwest.

NTEC had given away 23 tons of coal as of Nov. 20 after opening the program for the season on Oct. 25, Hawkins said. But he anticipated that traffic would spike on Nov. 22, the day before Thanksgiving.

“That’s traditionally one of our busiest days of the season,” he said.

Last year, NTEC provided a record 16,000 tons of coal to Navajo and Hopi families, according to a news release from the organization. That equated to $3.7 million in economic value, NTEC officials say.

Hawkins said NTEC offers the coal to residents of all 110 chapters on the Navajo Nation not just at the mine, but through a delivery service to dozens of communities on the nation, allowing residents of those areas to avoid having to make a sometimes-lengthy drive to San Juan County.

Last year, NTEC made 186 bulk deliveries to 84 sites on the Navajo Nation, according to the news release.

“We will actually deliver 20 tons to a chapter house,” Hawkins said. “And NTEC pays for all of this. There is no cost to the Navajo people.”

The giveaways are conducted on a ticket basis, he said, explaining that company officials visit each chapter house in the late summer and distribute dozens of tickets to chapter officials, who then decide how the tickets will be shared among their residents. A ticket holder then can travel to the Navajo Mine and present a ticket to pick up a load or claim a load at their chapter house if a delivery is made there.

That helps NTEC employees avoid having to determine the eligibility of customers who travel to the mine for coal, Hawkins said. It also helps workers maintain an efficient system that allows customers to keep their time at the mine to a minimum, he said.

“You don’t have to call and make an appointment,” Hawkins said, explaining that ticket-holders can simply drive to the mine, present their ticket and have the coal loaded for them. The loading process can be conducted in as little as one minute, 15 seconds, he said – a speedy system that allowed NTEC workers to service a record 356 trucks in one day last year.

“It’s pretty efficient,” Hawkins said, noting that the circular driveway at the coal-loading site also contributes to the speed with which customers are serviced and sent on their way.

That contrasts sharply with the old system, when customers used to have to make an appointment, then load their coal by hand, he said – a process that routinely took between an hour and 90 minutes.

Hawkins said a standard-size pickup can hold 1 ton of coal. Last year, he said, the mine saw 12,000 visitors for the program, and delivered several thousand more tons of coal to various chapters on the nation. He said the busiest time for the program is from the middle of December through late February.

The program isn’t for everybody, as a standard wood-burning stove won’t do, Hawkins said. He noted that the coal burns at 9,000 BTUs – hot enough to melt a stove that isn’t rated for coal.

But most of the families who take part in the program have been doing it for generations, he said, and are well acquainted with how to use coal safely.

Aside from a two-week closure during the end-of-year holidays, the program is open from 8 a.m. to noon and 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays through March 2. It also will be open those hours on Fridays and Saturdays from March 3 through March 30.

For more information, visit the CHRP Facebook page https://facebook.com/navajominechrp or call 505-258-7782.

Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e.

This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: NTEC coal-giveaway program provided 16,000 tons of coal last year