Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association plans to close two of its coal-fired power plants and a coal mine in Colorado and New Mexico.

The utility plans to close the Escalante Station in New Mexico by the end of this year. It also plans to close two units at the Craig Station plant in Craig, Colorado, and its operation at the Colowyo Mine in northwest Colorado by 2030.

The closures will affect about 600 employees.

That includes more than 100 workers in a rural area of New Mexico, where state and local officials began scrambling Thursday to identify options for replacing the lost jobs.

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