Dive Brief:
- El Paso Electric income was up 3% to $30.1 million for Q2 2014, or $0.75 per share, from Q2 2013’s $29.2 million income, $0.75 per share.
- El Paso Electric's Q2 2014 retail and wholesale electricity sales fell to $151.1 million, down 0.6% from Q2 2013’s $152 million.
- The increased earnings came despite sales volume losses because El Paso Electric earned a $2.1 million efficient operations performance award from the Public Utility Commission of Texas for its half of Arizona’s Palo Verde nuclear power plant for the 2009 through 2012 period which, according to CEO Tom Shockley, “added $0.04 earnings per share.”
Dive Insight:
El Paso Electric reduced the range of its projected 2014 earnings to $2.15 to $2.40 per share from the previous $2.10 to $2.50 range.
In Q2 2014, El Paso Electric began construction on two units of the 172 megawatt natural gas-burning Montana Power Station, set a new system generation peak of 1,766 megawatts, and grew its customer base, Shockley reported. The Montana Power Station is a fast-ramp combined cycle facility selected to bolster reliability, facilitate the integration of renewables, and help meet EPA greenhouse gas and pollution reduction standards.
El Paso Electric’s year-to-date 2014 net income was $34.7 million, $0.86 per share, down from $36.8 million, $0.92 per share, over the same period last year.
