Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets	12 Months Ended
Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets	Dec. 31, 2012
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets; Impairments	Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets; Impairments The excess purchase price over the fair value of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed by PNMR for its June 6, 2005 acquisition of TNP was recorded as goodwill and was pushed down to the businesses acquired. In 2007, the TNMP assets that were included in its New Mexico operations, including goodwill, were transferred to PNM. Additionally, the trade name "First Choice" and the First Choice customer list were acquired in the TNP acquisition. The trade name was considered to have an indefinite useful life; therefore, no amortization was recorded. The useful life of the customer list was estimated to be approximately eight years. As discussed in Note 3, PNMR completed the sale of First Choice on November 1, 2011. As a result, the goodwill and other intangible assets of First Choice are no longer included in PNMR's Consolidated Balance Sheet and PNMR no longer has any other intangible assets. GAAP requires the Company to evaluate its goodwill and non-amortizing intangible assets for impairment annually at the reporting unit level or more frequently if circumstances indicate that the goodwill or intangible assets may be impaired. Application of the impairment test requires judgment, including the identification of reporting units, assignment of assets and liabilities to reporting units, and determination of the fair value of each reporting unit. A discounted cash flow methodology is primarily used to estimate the fair value of each reporting unit. This analysis requires significant judgments, including estimation of future cash flows, which is dependent on internal forecasts, estimation of long-term growth rates for the business, and determination of appropriate weighted average cost of capital for each reporting unit. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value and the conclusion of impairment for each reporting unit. For goodwill, the first step of the impairment test requires that the Company compare the fair value of each reporting unit with its carrying value, including goodwill. If as a result of this analysis, the Company concludes there is an indication of impairment in a reporting unit having goodwill, the Company is required to perform the second step of the impairment analysis, determining the amount of goodwill impairment to be recorded. The amount is calculated by comparing the implied fair value of the goodwill to its carrying amount. This exercise requires the Company to allocate the fair value determined in step one to the individual assets and liabilities of the reporting unit. Any remaining fair value would be the implied fair value of goodwill on the testing date. To the extent the recorded amount of goodwill of a reporting unit exceeds the implied fair value determined in step two, an impairment loss is reflected in results of operations. Prior to 2012, the Company compared the fair value of non-amortizing intangibles other than goodwill to the recorded value. The annual evaluations have not indicated impairments of any of PNMR's reporting units, except in 2008. During 2008, the market capitalization of PNMR’s common stock was significantly below book value. In addition, changes in the ERCOT market significantly impacted the results of operations of First Choice. The financial challenges facing First Choice were exacerbated by the impacts of Hurricane Ike and depressed economic conditions resulting in significant increases in the levels of uncollectible accounts. As a result, the Company recorded goodwill impairments of $51.1 million for PNM, $34.5 million for TNMP, and $88.8 million for First Choice in 2008. Pre-tax impairment losses of $42.6 million for the First Choice trade name and $4.8 million for the First Choice customer list were also recorded in 2008. Since 2008, the price of PNMR’s common stock has increased, improving the relationship between PNMR's market capitalization and book value. In addition, improved regulatory treatment has been experienced by PNM in New Mexico and by TNMP in Texas. Furthermore, First Choice's business became more stable, primarily due to more predictable power and fuel price patterns in the ERCOT market. These factors resulted in more predictable earnings and increased fair values of the reporting units. Since 2008, the annual evaluations have not indicated that the fair values of the reporting units with recorded goodwill have decreased below their carrying values. Other than the 2008 impairments, the Company has not recorded any impairments of goodwill or other intangible assets. See Note 21 for a discussion of the impairment of PNMR’s investment in Optim Energy.

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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