EL PASO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
El Paso Electric (EPE) welcomes Michael D. Blanchard as the new Vice
President of Regulatory Affairs. Blanchard will be responsible for
developing regulatory strategy and filings to comply with all
requirements of the regulatory commissions in Texas and New Mexico as
well as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Prior to joining EPE, Michael D. Blanchard was Assistant General Counsel
at Nebraska Public Power District. He was responsible for the daily
administration of the legal division and for long-term strategic
planning implementation. He also served as senior advisor to the senior
management team and board of directors on regulatory issues, finance and
general business matters. Blanchard brings to EPE more than 30 years of
legal, regulatory and rate-making experience. Prior to Nebraska Public
Power, Blanchard spent more than 20 years with Texas-New Mexico Power
Company where he served as Vice President and General Counsel. As Vice
President at Texas-New Mexico Power Company, Blanchard was responsible
for Governmental Relations, Environmental and Regulatory Affairs.
Blanchard graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a
Bachelor of Arts degree in History and completed his Juris Doctorate at
Texas Tech University.
El Paso Electric also welcomes John R. Boomer as Vice President,
Treasurer. John brings a wealth of diverse management, operations and
legal experience as he rejoins El Paso Electric from Helen of Troy. John
succeeds Steve Busser after 12 years of service to the Company. John
worked in a number of EPE legal and administrative positions, including
assistant general counsel at EPE in 1998 and 1999, and earlier as
shareholder/associate at Kemp, Smith, Duncan and Hammond. At Helen of
Troy, John was most recently senior vice president responsible for
investor relations and actively involved in merger and acquisition
activities. Previously he held a variety of positions with Helen of
Troy, including operating roles in their Latin America, Europe/Middle
East and Asia/Pacific businesses. He also served as their first general
counsel when that position was established. John is a resident of El
Paso and holds a B.A. from Rice University in Houston and a J.D. from
the University of Texas School of Law in Austin.
"We are very excited to welcome Michael Blanchard and John Boomer to El
Paso Electric," said Thomas V. Shockley, El Paso Electric Chief
Executive Officer. "The knowledge, expertise and experience both Michael
and John bring is invaluable to El Paso Electric."
El Paso Electric (NYSE:EE) is a regional electric utility providing
generation, transmission and distribution service to approximately
394,000 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 1,852 MW.

El Paso Electric
Public Relations
Eddie Gutierrez, 915-543-5763
eduardo.gutierrez@epelectric.com
Source: El Paso Electric
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