News Release

Nov. 15 , 2007

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An Expanded PNM Afton Generating Station
Now Online

Anthony: The PNM Afton Generating Station, located approximately 30 miles southwest of Las Cruces, NM, came online in mid-October, following the completion of construction to expand the plant’s capacity to 235 megawatts (MW), enough to power 195,755 average homes, and to incorporate more efficient combined-cycle technology.

“Our primary goal in expanding Afton is to keep up with the tremendous growth in demand in a way that is affordable for our customers and that provides an environmentally friendly approach,” said Jim Ferland, PNM Senior Vice President of Utility Operations.

Prior to the expansion, the simple-cycle plant used natural gas to turn a combustion turbine that was capable of producing 141 MW of electricity. PNM added a boiler to use the exhaust heat from the first cycle, which otherwise would have been wasted, to create steam to power a second turbine. Together, the two cycles provide approximately 40 percent more electricity from the same amount of fuel.

In addition to expanding the plant’s capacity and making it more efficient, PNM installed selective catalytic converter technology to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide and a cooling system that will reduce water consumption by 62 percent from 1600 acre-feet per year to 600 acre-feet per year.

Afton will help PNM serve it’s nearly one-half million electric customers in New Mexico. The plant requires 24 full-time employees. It will contribute about $2 million in annual wages to the economy of Dona Ana County and also provide annual tax revenues for the county and state. More than 250 people were employed at the plant during the construction.

PNM originally built Afton in 2002 to serve as a peaking plant that could be rapidly brought into service on hot summer afternoons or cold winter days, but Ferland said that today the average PNM customer uses more electricity than even five years ago and that the PNM customer base continues to grow.

PNM is a subsidiary of PNM Resources, an energy holding company based in Albuquerque, N.M. PNM provides electric utility service to 435,000 customers and natural gas service to 487,000 customers in New Mexico. The company also sells power on the wholesale market in the West. 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.