News Release

Oct. 1, 2009

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NEWS MEDIA CONTACT Don Brown Telephone: (505) 241-2882

PNM Top Tip for Hot Air Balloon Safety: Balloon Crews and Watchers, Do Not Touch a Balloon Caught in Power Lines

Albuquerque: Electric power lines and hot air balloons are a dangerous mix. During the nine days of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta^®, PNM and balloon fiesta officials are asking crews, enthusiasts and spectators to follow one simple tip to reduce the possibility of injury or death: if you see a balloon caught in power lines, do not touch it. Instead, call 911 and PNM – and allow emergency responders to safely remove the balloon from the power lines.

Touching a balloon wrapped in power lines could cause a chain reaction that injures both those attempting to provide help as well as everybody within a balloon's gondola. Electricity seeks the nearest path to ground. This means an energized line that poses no danger to a balloon hanging on one wire could become deadly for everyone involved if a single onlooker touches the ground and the balloon or a tether at the same time. There is no way for a casual observer to know if a power line is carrying electricity or has been deenergized by the balloon accident.

“We ask that anybody who sees a balloon in power lines to assume the line is energized and call us immediately,” said Jim Ferland, PNM senior vice president of utility operations. PNM asks that anyone who sees a balloon wrapped in a power line to call 911 and also PNM at (505) 344-7226.

"Experienced balloon pilots have been trained on how to handle power lines, but it’s important that all balloon watchers understand the importance of letting emergency responders handle incidents like this," said Event Director Pat Brake. "As always, we hope for an incident-free event. We want every pilot and passenger to experience the beauty of flight and landing in a safe manner."

In addition to responding to emergency situations during the fiesta, PNM takes several precautions to help reduce the potential risks associated with balloons taking off and landing near power lines. These include:

• Placing emergency response crews and the company’s outage response center on a heightened state of alert prior to and during scheduled balloon liftoffs,
• Positioning emergency response crews just outside Balloon Fiesta® grounds to enable a quick response in the event of an incident on or near the field,
• Placing trained coordinators on the field before every launch to answer pilot questions and give real-time information to the PNM outage response center on which direction balloons are traveling, and
• Placing a special brochure on power-line safety in every pilot’s briefing packet.

PNM is a subsidiary of PNM Resources, an energy holding company based in Albuquerque, N.M. PNM provides electric utility service to 500,000 customers in New Mexico. 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.