El Paso Electric Appoints El Pasoan Mary Kipp as New President

EL PASO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The El Paso Electric Company (EPE) Board of Directors officially announces that Mary Kipp, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, has been appointed as President of El Paso Electric.

Thomas V. Shockley will remain CEO and will continue to lead the Company's commitment to identify local talent and leadership through the end of his contract in December 2015. Shockley has served as CEO since January 2012 and is proactively engaging in succession planning and leadership cultivation. From implementing a high school summer internship program and apprenticeship to identifying engineers, Shockley has been instrumental in positioning EPE as leader in promoting local leadership and diversity.

“Mary is the future of El Paso Electric, and I am confident, together, we will continue to work closely with all of our talented employees to provide safe and reliable energy to the communities we serve,” said Thomas V. Shockley, El Paso Electric Chief Executive Officer. “As a native of this region, Mary understands the needs of our diverse community. During her time at EPE, Mary has been able to enhance and change the way we do business by keeping our customers' needs at the forefront of every decision. She understands our community and values the importance of supporting economic development in the region.”

Under this new leadership structure, Kipp will oversee the entire Company's overall operations, working collaboratively with Shockley to prepare the Company for the future.

“I am extremely honored and humbled to work with Mr. Shockley and our hard-working employees to shape the future of El Paso Electric,” said Mary Kipp, President of El Paso Electric. “For over 100 years, El Paso Electric has been dedicated to the long-term success and well-being of our region, continuing our rich history of investing in our region's economic growth while providing clean, reliable energy for our growing community's needs. We remain committed to investing in a cleaner future with cost-effective new technologies so the benefits to customers outweigh the costs of maintaining and updating our safe and reliable grid. Working together, it is our responsibility and commitment to meet the growing energy needs of our community, and in doing so, we provide a better quality of life for future generations to come.”

Deeply rooted in this community, Kipp, born in El Paso and raised in southern New Mexico, has a family history that expands six generations in this region. Kipp has been with El Paso Electric since December 2007, and has held various positions and has overseen several departments at the Company, including regulatory and rates, human resources, external affairs, public relations, and environmental, health and safety. Kipp has also served as the Company's Vice President, Legal and Chief Compliance Officer and Assistant General Counsel and Director of FERC Compliance. Prior to joining the Company, Kipp was a senior attorney in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Office of Enforcement in Washington, DC.

Kipp received a Bachelor of Arts cum laude from Williams College, a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas School of Law, and is an alumnus of Exeter College, University of Oxford. She is a member of the Texas Bar (1994) and Colorado Bar (2002). Kipp is active in numerous community organizations, including the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce (Board of Directors), Executive Women in Energy, the WomenCorporateDirectors Greater New Mexico Chapter, Paso del Norte Health Foundation (Finance Council), the Sun Bowl Association (Board of Directors), Borderplex Binational Economic Alliance (Leadership Group), and Executive Forum.

El Paso Electric EE is a regional electric utility providing generation, transmission and distribution service to approximately 395,000 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 1,872 MW.

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