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News Release
Dec. 30, 2002
Market Factors Drive January Natural Gas
Prices Slightly Higher
Albuquerque: PNM customers will pay 46.8 cents per
therm for natural gas in January, an increase of about 10
percent from the December price of 42.6 cents per therm. The
increase is a result of rising wholesale market prices.
PNM officials said the price of natural gas, which PNM passes
along to customers without markup, remains volatile and is
expected to stay that way for the foreseeable future.
"We have sufficient supplies of natural gas to meet
customer demand," said PNM Vice President Melvin Christopher.
"Unfortunately, the cost of buying that gas is substantially
higher than it was this time last year."
Christopher added that natural gas prices are still well
below their record-setting levels of two years ago, when market
conditions drove the price for PNM customers to 66.75 cents
per therm for January 2001.
Christopher said that despite continuing high prices, PNM
customer bills will start to drop in the next few months as
warmer weather reduces heating needs and average customer
consumption.
PNM customers typically use more natural gas in January than
in any other month. The average residential customer uses
145 therms in January, followed in descending order by February
(132 therms), December (113 therms) and March (108 therms).
Customers typically use the least amount of gas in August,
with an average residential use of 18 therms.
To help customers manage their energy consumption, the January
edition of PNM's Energy Works bill supplement includes a coupon
good for $5 off any purchase of energy-saving products that
totals $15 or more. The coupon is good at participating True
Value Hardware stores throughout New Mexico.
PNM is the principal subsidiary of PNM Resources,
an energy holding company based in Albuquerque. PNM provides
natural gas service to 441,000 gas customers and electric
utility service to 378,000 customers in New Mexico. The company
also sells power on the wholesale market in the Western U.S.
PNM Resources stock is traded primarily on the NYSE under
the symbol PNM
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