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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 or 15(d) of the
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of report (Date of earliest event reported) June 30, 1997
SOUTHWESTERN PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY
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(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
New Mexico
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of Incorporation)
1-3789 75-0575400
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(Commission File No.) (IRS Employer
Identification No.)
Tyler at Sixth, Amarillo, Texas 79101
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(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code(806) 378-2121
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<PAGE>
ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS
Reference is made to the press release filed as an exhibit hereto for
information with respect to Company's recorded charge related to a subsidiary
project.
ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS
(c) Exhibits.
The following exhibits are filed herewith:
99 Press Release, dated June 30, 1997, of Southwestern Public
Service Company.
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SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
SOUTHWESTERN PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY
/s/B. D. Helton
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B. D. Helton
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Date: June 30, 1997
Exhibit 99
SPS Records Charge Related to Carolina Energy Project
Southwestern Public Service Company (NYSE:SPS) today reported it will
record a one-time, after-tax charge of 25 cents per common share for the period
ended June 30, 1997, to write-off the $16.1 million recorded investment of its
subsidiaries Quixx Corporation and Utility Engineering Corporation in the
Carolina Energy Project in Kinston, N.C.
SPS disclosed in February that construction of the waste-to-energy CEP
project, originally scheduled to be completed later this year, had been halted
pending an independent analysis of the project's viability, and that banks
providing debt financing to the project had withheld funds for continued
construction.
Quixx and Utility Engineering, other equity owners, senior creditors, the
cities and counties providing waste for fuel and the constructor have been
unable to restructure the project on mutually agreeable terms. The construction
contractor is demobilizing, and the creditors have initiated remedies provided
under the credit agreement. Accordingly, SPS, Quixx and Utility Engineering
management have determined it is unlikely the project will be completed under
present ownership, if at all, and the subsidiaries' investments in CEP are
unlikely to be recovered.
Quixx's investment, approximately $13.64 million, represents a one-third
ownership in the facility, including a one percent general partnership interest.
UE's net investment from engineering service fees, subordinated debt and related
interest receivable equals $2.42 million.
SPS also reported in February a one-time, after-tax charge of 25 cents per
common share for the period ended Dec. 31, 1996, to write-off a $16 million
investment of Quixx in a companion waste-to-energy project, BCH, in
Fayetteville, N.C.
Southwestern Public Service Company primarily provides electric service to
a population of about one million people in a 52,000-square-mile area covering
eastern and southeastern New Mexico, the South Plains and Panhandle of Texas,
the Oklahoma Panhandle and southwestern Kansas. Corporate headquarters is in
Amarillo, Texas.
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For more information:
News Media: Bill Crenshaw, Corporate Communications, (806) 378-2120
Security Analysts: Jim Steinhilper, Group Manager of Finance, (303) 294-8227
