During this critical time, we are proud that our frontline workers continue to go into the field every day, supported by other committed employees who have modified their operations.

To support our community, we have also suspended disconnections activities, connected those in need with supportive agencies and modified operations to prevent outages during the school day. In all, our partners provided more than $4.9 million in customer assistance programs to more than 42,000 customers.

Simultaneously, we continued our strong commitment to community giving and economic development with more than $1.4 million in community contributions to about 140 nonprofits.

And despite the logistical obstacles created by the pandemic, El Paso Electric’s economic development department continues to work alongside our partners to market our region as a place to do business. There were more than 1,700 jobs announced in 2020 from businesses joining our market, including Amazon’s fulfillment center.

The success of 2020 was on par with the impact El Paso Electric made in 2019, which was an overall regional economic impact of $889 million, 2,446 jobs created and a labor income impact of more than $189 million. El Paso Electric will ensure that these new businesses, along with every other customer, will have the electric service they need and deserve.

Positioning El Paso Electric well for the future, we finalized our change of ownership, which included the following benefits, among others:

• Local workforce retention and development opportunities

• Maintenance of a local headquarters and electric bill credits for customers

• $100 million in economic development

During 2020, our customers set a record for electricity use, which made it abundantly clear that the energy resource choices we made previously were the right ones to meet our customers’ energy demands. This supply includes almost 500 megawatts of new power – 200 MW of solar, 50 MW of battery storage and 228 MW of natural gas. Our goal is to increase the use of renewables and improve reliability simultaneously.

Looking forward, El Paso Electric plans to implement new technologies and customer programs, including advanced metering systems, predictive maintenance technology, electric vehicle infrastructure and more self-service customer tools that will help position our region as a preferred place to live, work and do business.

Most recently, we launched our online store at www.EPElectricMarketplace.com, which offers customers products to save energy and money.

For many reasons, 2020 was a pivotal time for all of us, but it also gave us an opportunity to reflect on who we are and what is most important to our customers. With our customers, community and employees top of mind, our new mission – transforming the energy landscape – will be how El Paso Electric charts a new path forward for innovations that will drive the economic vibrancy our region deserves.

We have endured so much but we have emerged more committed, prouder and more determined than ever. We know that if we can stand together during this year, we can rise together in the upcoming ones.

Kelly Tomblin became CEO of El Paso Electric on Sept. 1. The utility has about 437,000 customers in West Texas and southern New Mexico.