El Paso Electric Announces Quarterly Dividend

The Board of Directors of El Paso Electric Company (“EPE”) (NYSE:EE) has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend on its common stock of $0.31 per share. The dividend was declared on November 17, 2016 and is payable on December 30, 2016 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on December 14, 2016.

El Paso Electric is a regional electric utility providing generation, transmission and distribution service to approximately 400,000 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 2,078 MW.

Safe Harbor

This news release includes statements that are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. This information may involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements is contained in EPE's most recently filed periodic reports and in other filings made by EPE with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), and include, but is not limited to: (i) increased prices for fuel and purchased power and the possibility that regulators may not permit EPE to pass through all such increased costs to customers or to recover previously incurred fuel costs in rates; (ii) full and timely recovery of capital investments and operating costs through rates in Texas and New Mexico; (iii) uncertainties and instability in the general economy and the resulting impact on EPE's sales and profitability; (iv) changes in customers' demand for electricity as a result of energy efficiency initiatives and emerging competing services and technologies, including distributed generation; (v) unanticipated increased costs associated with scheduled and unscheduled outages of generating plant; (vi) unanticipated maintenance, repair, or replacement costs for generation, transmission, or distribution facilities and the recovery of proceeds from insurance policies providing coverage for such costs; (vii) the size of our construction program and our ability to complete construction on budget and on time; (viii) potential delays in our construction schedule due to legal challenges or other reasons; (ix) costs at Palo Verde; (x) deregulation and competition in the electric utility industry; (xi) possible increased costs of compliance with environmental or other laws, regulations and policies; (xii) possible income tax and interest payments as a result of audit adjustments proposed by the IRS or state taxing authorities; (xiii) uncertainties and instability in the financial markets and the resulting impact on EPE's ability to access the capital and credit markets; (xiv) possible physical or cyber attacks, intrusions or other catastrophic events; and (xv) other factors of which we are currently unaware or deem immaterial. EPE's filings are available from the SEC or may be obtained through EPE's website, http://www.epelectric.com. Any such forward-looking statement is qualified by reference to these risks and factors. EPE cautions that these risks and factors are not exclusive. Management cautions against putting undue reliance on forward-looking statements or projecting any future results based on such statements or present or prior earnings levels. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release, and EPE does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement contained herein.

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El Paso Electric CompanyPublic RelationsEddie Gutierrez, [e-mail] RelationsLisa Budtke, [e-mail] Gonzalez, [e-mail]