News Release
Dec. 11, 2008
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N.M. Gas
Tim
Lubbers
(810) 887-4208 |
PNM
Susan Sponar
(505) 241-2768 |
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State Regulators Approve Sale of PNM Gas Utility to New Mexico Gas
Company
Albuquerque: The N.M. Public Regulation Commission has approved
the sale of PNM’s gas utility to New Mexico Gas Company, clearing the
way for the new local company to provide natural gas service to approximately
500,000 gas customers. PNM will continue to serve 500,000 electric customers.
PNM and New Mexico Gas Company currently anticipate that the sale should be
finalized in early 2009.
"Approval of this sale means customers currently receiving both gas and
electric service from PNM will be served by two companies, each focused on
and expert in its area of service," said Pat Vincent-Collawn, PNM president
and CEO. "We welcome New Mexico Gas Company as a new business and community
leader in our state."
"It is a great privilege to be the new natural gas distribution company
in the state. We are absolutely committed to providing safe, reliable, and
efficient service to our customers and to being a contributing partner in the
communities we serve," said Annette Gardiner, president of New Mexico
Gas Company.
Until the sale is complete, natural gas customers should continue to call
PNM at
1-888-DIAL PNM (1-888-342-5766) for gas emergencies and questions about their
gas account. After the completion of the sale, natural gas customers will have
a new number to call 1-888-NMGASCO (1-888-664-2726) and a new Web site to visit
for information.
The two companies have worked together to assure a smooth transition. Gas
and electric customers will automatically continue to receive their service
as they always have, with no change in cost of service delivery rates.
The biggest change will be that customers who have received both gas and
electric service from PNM will now receive two bills – a gas bill from New Mexico Gas
Company and an electric bill from PNM – rather than one.
PNM gas customers will receive more information about the transition in their
final PNM natural gas or combined gas and electric bill.
New Mexico Gas Company is a subsidiary of Continental Energy Systems, which
also owns SEMCO Energy Gas Company in Michigan and ENSTAR Natural Gas Company
in Alaska. The company will be headquartered in Albuquerque and will employ
many of the same people who currently work for PNM’s gas utility. In
many communities, PNM payment centers and offices will become New Mexico Gas
Company locations; in others they will remain PNM locations.
The sale marks the start of a new chapter for PNM in its more than 90 years
of service to New Mexicans.
"Our changing energy environment – increased cost, rising demand
and concern for the environment -- brings both challenges and opportunities
that require us to think differently about how we create and use electricity," said
Vincent-Collawn. "The sale of the gas company will allow us to focus exclusively
on being the best electric provider possible for our customers."
The PNM electric service territory includes Alamogordo, Ruidoso, Deming, Silver
City, Clayton, Las Vegas, Lordsburg, Bayard, Santa Fe and the greater Albuquerque
metro area.
New Mexico Gas Company’s service territory includes Alamogordo, Luna County, Silver City, Clayton, Las Vegas, Lordsburg, Bayard, Santa Fe, the greater Albuquerque metro area, Roswell, Artesia, Clovis, Tucumcari, Portales, Taos, Chama, Grants, Gallup, Truth or Consequences, Carlsbad, Lovington, Eunice, and Tatum, Anthony, and Farmington.
For more information, visit PNM.com.
PNM is a subsidiary of PNM Resources, an energy holding company based in Albuquerque,
N.M. PNM provides electric utility service to 487,000 customers and natural
gas service to 492,000 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.
New Mexico Gas Company is a subsidiary of Continental Energy Systems LLC,
a utility holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the Continental Energy
Systems currently serves approximately 410,000 natural gas customers in Alaska
and Michigan and distributes electricity to 36,000 residential and commercial
accounts in 28 counties in Texas.
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