EL PASO, Texas -- (Business Wire)

El Paso Electric (NYSE:EE) has scheduled a conference call for October 26, 2011 to discuss the outcome of the El Paso City Council’s October 25 hearing on interim rates. Please use the following information to access the conference call:

Participants International Toll Number: 719-325-2368

A replay of the conference call will be available shortly after the call ends. Please provide the conference ID to access the replay.

El Paso Electric is a regional electric utility providing generation, transmission and distribution service to approximately 380,000 retail and wholesale customers in a 10,000 square mile area of the Rio Grande valley in west Texas and southern New Mexico. El Paso Electric has a net dependable generating capability of 1,795 MW. El Paso Electric’s common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EE.

Safe Harbor

This news release includes statements that may constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This information may involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: (i) increased prices for fuel and purchased power and the possibility that regulators may not permit EE to pass through all such increased costs to customers or to recover previously incurred fuel costs in rates; (ii) our rates in El Paso following the El Paso City Council’s resolution ordering EE to show cause why our base rates for El Paso customers should not be lower; (iii) recovery of capital investments and operating costs through rates in Texas and New Mexico; (iv) uncertainties and instability in the general economy and the resulting impact on EE’s sales and profitability; (v) unanticipated increased costs associated with scheduled and unscheduled outages; (vi) the size of our construction program and our ability to complete construction on budget and on time; (vii) costs at Palo Verde; (viii) deregulation and competition in the electric utility industry; (ix) possible increased costs of compliance with environmental or other laws, regulations and policies; (x) possible income tax and interest payments as a result of audit adjustments proposed by the IRS; (xi) uncertainties and instability in the financial markets and the resulting impact on EE's ability to access the capital and credit markets; and (xii) other factors detailed by EE in its public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. EE’s filings are available from the Securities and Exchange Commission or may be obtained through EE’s website, http://www.epelectric.com. Any such forward-looking statement is qualified by reference to these risks and factors. EE cautions that these risks and factors are not exclusive. EE does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of EE except as required by law.

Contacts:

El Paso Electric
Media:
Teresa Souza, 915-543-5823
or
Analysts:
Rachelle Williams, 915-543-2257

Source: El Paso Electric