Ledes from the Land of Enchantment

PNM earnings rebound in Q3

Public Service Company of New Mexico reported nearly a 13% jump in net earnings in third-quarter 2022 compared with the same period last year. (Jim Thompson/Journal)

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Public Service Company of New Mexico reported nearly a 13% jump in net earnings in third-quarter 2022 compared with the same period last year.

That reflects a significant rebound from the winter and spring, when income declined sharply, largely because of investment losses on crashing stock markets and higher interest rates on corporate debt.

The company did report another $11.2 million in investment losses from PNM’s decommissioning and reclamation trust funds during the July-September period. But that’s down from $39 million in losses it reported from April-June.

And, at the same time, searing summer heat drove up electric demand among PNM customers across the board, greatly offsetting the losses and pushing the company’s net income back into the black.

The utility reported $97.5 million in net earnings for the third quarter, up 13% from $86.9 million in third-quarter 2021.

PNM’s improved finances over the summer – combined with stellar performance at Texas New Mexico Power – boosted consolidated earnings for PNM Resources, the parent company for both utilities.

PNM Resources reported $122.4 million in net income in the third quarter, up from $113.3 million in third-quarter 2021.

TNMP is doing particularly well, thanks to immense growth in industrial and commercial demand, which increased by 11.7% from January-September.

Residential demand also grew by 2.8%, pushing net income from $52.3 million in the first nine months of 2021 to $72.5 million this year.

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“Results for the third quarter were driven by increased demand at TNMP, PNM and across the western region,” PNM Resources Chairman and CEO Pat Vincent-Collawn said in a statement.

At PNM, electric demand reached a new system peak when temperatures soared in July.

Overall, however, consumption here is growing slower than anticipated because of supply-chain problems that have delayed expansion plans among industrial customers, although those constraints are expected to ease next year, said PNM Resources President and Chief Operating Officer Don Tarry.

“Economic development efforts in New Mexico have increased the number of continuing inquiries from companies looking to relocate or expand in our state, particularly from those who are looking to achieve their own clean energy goals,” Tarry told investors in a quarterly earnings call on Friday . “We play a key role in working with these companies to plan for their energy needs, and as a result we anticipate growth in our system in the years to come.”

PNM has also significantly benefitted from its new Western Spirit transmission line that came online last December, and from growth in transmission-related income in general as electric demand increases throughout the West.

“Resource constraints across the West have driven up market prices as well as demand for transmission to move energy across our grid,” Tarry said.

Despite PNM’s improved performance over the summer, however, the company is still making up for losses during the first half of the year.

PNM’s net earnings for January-September dropped 35% compared with last year, from $146.8 million in 2021 to $95.5 million this year. Likewise, PNM Resources reported $153.8 million in net earnings for the first nine months of 2022, down from $184.6 million in 2021.

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