CNL Cleco Corp.

Cleco Corp. (NYSE: CNL) announced today the election of Logan Kruger to its board of directors. Kruger is the president, chief executive officer and a director of Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ: CENX) based in Monterey, Calif.

Prior to joining Century Aluminum, Kruger was president of the Asia/Pacific division of Inco, Limited, a Canadian-based mining and metals company.

"The variety of experience and knowledge he will bring to our board will be invaluable as we complete the construction of our Rodemacher Unit 3 project and focus on maximizing cash flow and earnings from the assets held within our Cleco Midstream Resources subsidiary," Cleco President and CEO Mike Madison said. "We're extremely pleased he is joining our board."

Kruger is a native of South Africa. He graduated from Witwatersrand University and the Management Development Program at the University of South Africa.

Among his industry, professional and civic experiences are memberships on the boards of the Manitoba Mining Association, the Business Council of Manitoba, the Mining Association of Canada, Balmoral Hall School in Winnipeg, AMCOAL/South Africa, and P.T. Inco on the Jakarta Stock Exchange.

Kruger will be a Class III director whose term of office will expire at Cleco's 2009 annual meeting of shareholders.

Cleco Corp. is a regional energy company headquartered in Pineville, La. It operates a regulated electric utility company that serves 273,000 customers across Louisiana. Cleco also operates a wholesale energy business with approximately 1,350 megawatts of nameplate generating capacity. For more information about Cleco, visit www.cleco.com.

Investor Contacts: Cleco Corporation Ryan Gunter (318) 484-7724 Rodney J. Hamilton (318) 484-7593 Media Contact: Cleco Corporation Fran Phoenix (318) 484-7467