SRP Sierra Pacific Resources (New)

Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power Purchase More Renewable Energy Credits Utilities Support Three Solar and Geothermal Programs LAS VEGAS, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sierra Pacific Resources (NYSE:SRP) today announced that its two electric utilities, Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company, have recently contracted with three renewable energy producers to purchase Renewable Energy Credits for electricity generated by solar and geothermal resources. The contracts finalized earlier in October will help the Nevada utilities meet their Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards which require that a certain percentage of electricity generated to serve customers must come from renewable energy resources in Nevada. The new contracts include: Solar * Nevada Power is acquiring credits from Powerlight Corporation for solar photovoltaic generation, a project undertaken in conjunction with the Las Vegas Valley Water District. Powerlight and the water district will be installing 3.1 megawatts* of solar generation to power four facilities in the Las Vegas Valley. Construction on the installations could begin late in 2005. * Nevada Power is purchasing credits from Your Vitamins Inc. of Henderson, a company that already is operating a solar array on one of its facilities that generates approximately one-fourth of one megawatt* of electricity. Geothermal * Sierra Pacific Power is contracting with subsidiaries of Ormat to purchase credits from three geothermal projects already operating in northern Nevada. "Nevada has a tremendous amount of native renewable energy resources and legislation adopted by our state's leaders has encouraged its development to meet Nevadans' growing needs for energy," said Roberto Denis, vice president of energy supply for Sierra Pacific Resources. "We are pleased to sign these contracts for energy credits with some of Nevada's leading renewable energy developers," Denis said. "This is a win-win for both the renewable developers, so they have incentive to keep building, and for our utilities who are committed to using renewable energy resources to serve customers." The contracts signed this month are a part of the two utilities' compliance with state legislation that requires the use of a certain percentage of renewable energy sources -- solar, wind, geothermal and biomass -- to generate electricity for customers within the state. The legislation contains an escalation provision that requires providers of electric service to increase the use of renewable energy by 2 percent every third year until the provider's portfolio accounts for 15 percent of its total energy sales by 2013. Solar-generated power must account for 5 percent of the total renewable energy portfolio. These contracts will help both utilities to meet approximately 12 percent of their solar requirement beginning in 2005. With these new contracts, approximately 7.5 percent of the two utilities' electricity generated in Nevada in 2005 will come from renewable sources. 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. *One megawatt will serve approximately 200 homes during peak usage periods. Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the future performance of Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the parties' abilities to perform under the renewable contracts, weather conditions, the ability of the renewables suppliers to obtain financing and complete construction of their renewables installation and/or maintain their renewables projects. Additional cautionary statements regarding other risk factors that could have an effect on the future performance of Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company are contained in their Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2004 and their Annual Reports on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003, filed with the SEC. Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company undertake no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. DATASOURCE: Nevada Power Company CONTACT: Sonya Headen of Nevada Power Company, +1-702-367-5222

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