Nevada Power Company to Complete Construction of Former Duke Energy Power Plant in Nevada

Nevada Power Company, a subsidiary of Sierra Pacific Resources (NYSE: SRP), announced that it today finalized its purchase of a partially constructed 1200 MW (megawatts) natural gas-fired combined- cycle power plant from Duke Energy. The company said it expects the facility -- located in the Moapa Valley, 20 miles northeast of Las Vegas -- to be fully operational by the summer of 2006. The project, along with the financing plan, was approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada in September. The generating facility consists of four natural gas-fired combustion turbines, two steam turbines and four heat recovery steam generators operating in combined-cycle mode.

The financing plan will use a combination of a revolving bank facility, long-term debt and internally generated funds. The acquisition will be completed using a $250 million revolving bank facility with a three-year term that was finalized last week. Total costs to acquire and complete construction of the facility are estimated at $558 million.

Nevada Power Company is a regulated public utility engaged in the distribution, transmission, generation, purchase and sale of electric energy in the southern Nevada communities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson, Searchlight, Laughlin and their adjoining areas. The Company also provides electricity to Nellis Air Force Base, the Department of Energy at Mercury and Jackass Flats at the Nevada Test Site. Nevada Power Company provides electricity to approximately 710,000 residential and business customers in a 4,500 square mile service area.

Headquartered in Nevada, Sierra Pacific Resources is a holding company whose principal subsidiaries are Nevada Power Company, the electric utility for most of southern Nevada, and Sierra Pacific Power Company, the electric utility for most of northern Nevada and the Lake Tahoe area of California. Sierra Pacific Power Company also distributes natural gas in the Reno-Sparks area of northern Nevada. Other subsidiaries include the Tuscarora Gas Pipeline Company, which owns 50 percent interest in an interstate natural gas transmission partnership and several unregulated energy services companies.