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Construction Program and Jointly-Owned Electric Generating Plants
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2013
Construction Program and Jointly-Owned Electric Generating Plants [Abstract]  
Construction Program and Jointly-Owned Electric Generating Plants
Construction Program and Jointly-Owned Electric Generating Plants
PNM’s expenditures for additions to utility plant were $239.9 million in 2013, including expenditures on jointly-owned projects. TNMP does not participate in the ownership or operation of any generating plants, but incurred expenditures for additions to utility plant of $89.1 million during 2013. On a consolidated basis, PNMR’s expenditures for additions to utility plant were $348.0 million in 2013.
 
Joint Projects

Under the agreements for the jointly-owned projects, PNM has an undivided interest in each asset and liability of the project and records its pro-rata share of each item in the corresponding asset and liability account on PNM’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. Likewise, PNM records its pro-rata share of each item of operating and maintenance expenses for its jointly-owned plants within the corresponding operating expense account in its Consolidated Statements of Earnings. PNM is responsible for financing its share of the capital and operating costs of the joint projects.
At December 31, 2013, PNM’s interests and investments in jointly-owned generating facilities are:
Station (Fuel Type)
Plant in
Service
 
Accumulated
Depreciation
 
Construction
Work in
Progress
 
Composite
Interest
 
(In thousands)
SJGS (Coal)
$
1,004,138

 
$
(414,054
)
 
$
13,860

 
46.30
%
PVNGS (Nuclear) (1)
$
508,426

 
$
(141,347
)
 
$
43,627

 
10.20
%
Four Corners Units 4 and 5 (Coal)
$
159,016

 
$
(100,462
)
 
$
3,236

 
13.00
%
Luna (Gas)
$
62,873

 
$
(17,743
)
 
$
169

 
33.33
%
 
(1) 
Includes interest in PVNGS Unit 3, interest in common facilities for all PVNGS units, and owned interests in PVNGS Units 1 and 2.
San Juan Generating Station
PNM operates and jointly owns SJGS. SJGS Units 1 and 2 are owned on a 50% shared basis with Tucson. SJGS Unit 3 is owned 50% by PNM, 41.8% by SCPPA, and 8.2% by Tri-State. SJGS Unit 4 is owned 38.457% by PNM, 28.8% by M-S-R Public Power Agency, 10.04% by the City of Anaheim, California, 8.475% by the City of Farmington, New Mexico, 7.2% by the County of Los Alamos, New Mexico, and 7.028% by UAMPS. See Note 16 for additional information about SJGS, including the potential restructuring of SJGS ownership.
Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station
PNM is a participant in the three units of PVNGS, also known as the Arizona Nuclear Power Project, with APS (the operating agent), SRP, EPE, SCE, SCPPA, and The Department of Water and Power of the City of Los Angeles. PNM has a 10.2% undivided interest in PVNGS, with portions of its interests in Units 1 and 2 held under leases. See Note 7 for additional information concerning the PVNGS leases, including PNM’s notices that it will exercise its option to purchase the assets underlying certain of the leases at the expiration of the leases on January 15, 2016.
Operation of each of the three PVNGS units requires an operating license from the NRC. The NRC issued full power operating licenses for Unit 1 in June 1985, Unit 2 in April 1986, and Unit 3 in November 1987. The full power operating licenses were originally for a period of 40 years and authorize APS, as operating agent for PVNGS, to operate the three PVNGS units. On April 21, 2011, the NRC approved extensions in the operating licenses for the plants for 20 years through June 2045 for Unit 1, April 2046 for Unit 2, and November 2047 for Unit 3. In April 2010, APS entered into a Municipal Effluent Purchase and Sale Agreement that provides effluent water rights necessary for cooling purposes at PVNGS through 2050.
Four Corners Power Plant
PNM is a participant in two units of Four Corners with APS (the operating agent), EPE, SRP, and Tucson. PNM has a 13.0% undivided interest in Units 4 and 5 of Four Corners. The Four Corners plant site is leased from the Navajo Nation and is also subject to an easement from the federal government. APS, on behalf of the Four Corners participants, negotiated amendments to an existing facility lease with the Navajo Nation, which extends the Four Corners leasehold interest from 2016 to 2041. The Navajo Nation approved these amendments in March 2011. The effectiveness of the amendments also requires the approval of the DOI, as does a related federal rights-of-way grant, which the Four Corners participants are pursuing. A federal environmental review is underway as part of the DOI review process. APS will also require a PSD permit from EPA to install SCR technology at Four Corners. PNM cannot predict whether these federal approvals will be granted, and if so on a timely basis, or whether any conditions that may be attached to them will be acceptable to PNM and the other Four Corners owners. See Note 16 for additional information about Four Corners.
Luna Energy Facility
Luna is a combined-cycle power plant near Deming, New Mexico. Luna is owned equally by PNM, Tucson, and Freeport McMoRan. The operation and maintenance of the facility has been contracted to North American Energy Services.
Construction Program
The Company anticipates making substantial capital expenditures for the construction and acquisition of utility plant and other property and equipment. An unaudited summary of the budgeted construction expenditures, including expenditures for jointly-owned projects, and nuclear fuel, is as follows:
 
2014
 
2015
 
2016
 
2017
 
2018
 
Total
 
 
 
 
 
(In millions)
 
 
 
 
PNM
$
360.8

 
$
433.7

 
$
387.3

 
$
335.4

 
$
181.7

 
$
1,698.9

TNMP
129.9

 
76.0

 
87.8

 
93.9

 
106.4

 
494.0

Corporate and Other
18.3

 
14.3

 
14.2

 
13.8

 
13.7

 
74.3

Total PNMR
$
509.0

 
$
524.0

 
$
489.3

 
$
443.1

 
$
301.8

 
$
2,267.2


 
The construction expenditure estimates are under continuing review and subject to ongoing adjustment, as well as to Board review and approval. The construction expenditures above include estimated amounts of $80.0 million related to environmental upgrades at SJGS to address regional haze and $276.3 million related to the identified sources of replacement capacity under the revised plan for compliance described in Note 16. The above construction expenditures also include additional renewable resources anticipated to be required to meet the RPS, additional peaking resources needed to meet needs outlined in PNM’s current IRP, environmental upgrades at Four Corners estimated to be $80.3 million, the purchase of the leased portion of the EIP and the assets underlying three of the PVNGS Unit 2 leases at the expiration of those leases, and the anticipated purchase of Delta.