CNL Cleco Corp.

Cleco Corp. (NYSE: CNL) announced today that Darren J. Olagues has been named its new senior vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) effective May 7.

Interim CFO R. Russell Davis will continue in his role as chief accounting officer (CAO) and assume the company's investor relations responsibilities as vice president of investor relations and CAO. Davis has served as interim CFO since May 31, 2008.

The board of directors approved Olagues' appointment following Cleco's annual meeting of shareholders Friday, April 24.

Olagues has been serving as senior vice president of Cleco Midstream Resources LLC (Midstream), the company's competitive wholesale generation business, since joining Cleco in July 2007.

"In the short time Darren has been with Cleco, he has helped us capitalize on our wholesale generation assets and further mitigate our risks in that market," said Michael Madison, Cleco's president and chief executive officer. "In his new position, Darren will manage all of Cleco's financial operations. I am confident Darren's business management skills and financial experience will benefit us as we successfully continue to implement our growth strategy and manage the financial risks associated with our growth plans."

Before joining Cleco, Olagues was vice president of asset management and development for Exelon Power. Prior to that, he served as Exelon's director of corporate development and as senior vice president and CFO at Sithe Energies. A certified public accountant, Olagues also worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he was senior manager of audit. Olagues, 38, graduated from Tulane University in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in management.

Keith Johnson, general manager of Midstream's commercial operations, will serve as acting vice president of Midstream. Johnson has been with Cleco since 1988 and has spent the last 11 years in the Midstream organization.

Cleco Corp. is a regional energy company headquartered in Pineville, La. It operates a regulated electric utility company that serves 276,000 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