Document And Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Oct. 31, 2012
Document and Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	ee
Entity Registrant Name	EL PASO ELECTRIC CO /TX/
Entity Central Index Key	0000031978
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		40,117,155