News Release

Jan. 15, 2009

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PNM Joins National Business and Environmental Leaders in Push for National Climate Protection Legislation

Washington, D.C.: PNM today joined 26 leading corporations and five environmental organizations at the U.S. Capitol to unveil details of an environmentally effective and economically sustainable national climate protection program.

The plan would cut national carbon emissions from 2005 levels by 80 percent by 2050, at manageable costs to the economy, through an economy-wide cap-and-trade program. The targets and timetables unveiled today are consistent with the schedule proposed by President-elect Barack Obama.

"Today's blueprint shows a broadly supported path for making the vision of national climate change legislation a reality,” said Jeff Sterba, chairman and CEO of PNM parent company PNM Resources. “With it, we would move our economy forward, encourage investment, create jobs and transition to a greener economy in a way that minimizes costs for consumers. Without it, we risk failure in each of these areas."

Developed through two years of intensive analysis and consensus-building, the proposal offers policymakers a clear path forward endorsed by a coalition representing a broad swath of the economy and diverse environmental interests, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund, The Nature Conservancy, the World Resources Institute, and the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. PNM Resources is a founding member of the group, known as the U.S. Climate Action Partnership.

Sterba noted that every year of delay in controlling emissions increases the risk of unavoidable consequences that could necessitate even steeper greenhouse gas reductions in the future, at substantially greater economic cost and social disruption. “The need to begin the transformation of our economy to a sustainable, secure, low-carbon future is compelling and timely. Doing so will only become more difficult, and more costly, if we delay action,” Sterba said.

As the U.S. Congress considers national climate legislation, PNM is moving forward on cleaner energy, renewables and energy efficiency on a variety of fronts. “Strong leadership and the right public policy will enable us to do much more,” said Sterba, pointing to recent PNM efforts:

• PNM’s massive environmental upgrade at San Juan Generating Station, the company’s primary power source, is nearly complete. The project has significantly reduced certain types of emissions and positions the plant to continue to provide affordable, reliable electricity for years to come. The environmental upgrade is a key part of PNM’s electric rate case pending before the N.M. Public Regulation Commission.
• PNM recently received approval to significantly expand its rooftop solar program, allowing the company to offer financial incentives to business customers to install solar photovoltaic panels on their facilities.
• PNM received more than 80 responses to separate requests in 2008 for large-scale solar parabolic trough and other renewable energy projects – and is currently evaluating the most promising projects.
• PNM has significantly expanded its residential and commercial energy efficiency programs and is actively planning to expand those programs.

For more information on the USCAP announcement, visit www.us-cap.org.

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.