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News Release
Sept. 23, 2005
PNM Expects To Avoid Natural Gas Curtailment
Albuquerque: PNM continues to track Hurricane Rita and the storm's
possible impact on a key processing facility that, if closed down, could affect
the supply of natural gas to PNM customers and possibly lead to curtailment.
PNM first issued a news release advising of possible natural gas curtailments
Thursday night, promising a follow up today. At this time, PNM continues to
view curtailments of natural gas as a remote possibility. Most likely, company
officials say, PNM customers will get through Hurricane Rita and its aftermath
without service interruptions.
The facility in Rita's projected path, in Mont Belvieu, Texas, is a major
natural gas liquids storage and processing plant. Natural gas processing plants
remove liquid components from raw natural gas before it enters the PNM system.
Most in New Mexico send their liquids to Mont Belvieu on a dedicated pipeline.
At this time, that pipeline is still flowing.
"We are confident we will have no impact on our natural gas supply through
Friday," said Tommy Sanders, PNM director of natural gas supply. "After
landfall of the hurricane, conditions on the system could change. We will be
monitoring and updating our customers once we know the impacts from the damage."
In the meantime, PNM is injecting natural gas into storage facilities and
securing alternate natural gas supplies to prepare for this possible situation.
PNM will monitor the situation in the Gulf Coast carefully and provide an
update after Hurricane Rita strikes and experts have been able to access the
impacts.
PNM is the principal subsidiary of PNM Resources, an energy holding company
based in Albuquerque, N.M. PNM provides electric utility service to 413,000
customers and natural gas service to 471,000 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. For more information,
see the company's Web site at PNM.com.
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