News Release

June 20, 2012

PNM NEWS News releases Financial news Contact PNM

NEWS MEDIA CONTACT Valerie Smith Telephone: (505) 241-2892

PNM Supports Ruidoso Fire Relief Efforts With Contribution to Red Cross, Outreach for Bill Assistance

Albuquerque: PNM employees last week heard reports of the Little Bear Fire in the Ruidoso area served by PNM and immediately asked two questions: what can we do to help, and is the company doing anything beyond its work to restore outages?

PNM had a ready answer for the second question. It had pledged an initial $5,000 to the American Red Cross relief efforts in the community, and later pledged another $5,000 to be used as a challenge grant to spur other donors to give. The PNM contribution is funded by shareholders and not through customer rates.

"PNM was the first company donor to proactively reach out to the American Red Cross with an offer to help in this disaster," said Red Cross Regional CEO Cindy Adams. "We hadn’t even started reaching out to potential donors when the offer for assistance from PNM arrived. We are so appreciative for the financial assistance but also for the challenge that PNM was able to issue to encourage others to donate and double the impact of their giving."

On Thursday and Friday, June 21 and 22, PNM also will reach out to victims who need a helping hand with utility bills while coping with losses related to the fire. The company will accept and process PNM Good Neighbor Fund applications at the Ruidoso PNM office, 1100 Mechem Drive, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on both days.

PNM experienced some outages in the Buck Mountain area related to the fire and completed restoration on Friday, June 15. Restoration required clearing trees and roads to replace burned lines. The majority of customers served by PNM in Ruidoso did not have fire-related outages since the fire has not reached the village itself. However, hundreds of local residents in and around the community have been affected with the loss of homes and other property.

"The fire has created a number of new challenges for the citizens of Ruidoso and surrounding areas, but the community has pulled together to successfully meet those challenges head on," said Steve Dettmer, PNM team manager. "We are pleased to be a part of that community effort."

With headquarters in Albuquerque, PNM is the largest electricity provider in New Mexico, serving 500,000 customers in dozens of communities across the state. PNM is a subsidiary of PNM Resources, an energy holding company also headquartered in Albuquerque. For more information, visit PNM.com.