Nevada Power Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sierra Pacific Resources (NYSE: SRP), announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire from Duke Energy the partially constructed 1,200 MW (megawatts) natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant located in the Moapa Valley, 20 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Total costs to acquire and complete construction of the facility are estimated at $558 million, of which $182 million is for the facility in its current state of completion. The transaction, which is subject to approval by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN), is expected to close this fall.

"We expect the facility to be fully operational by the summer of 2006," said Walter Higgins, chairman and chief executive officer of Sierra Pacific Resources. "This will go a long way toward reducing the amount of purchased power that we buy to fill the growing demand for electricity in southern Nevada. It also reduces our reliance on what has been a volatile energy marketplace. We believe acquiring a more balanced mix of our own generation and purchased power is clearly in the best interest of our customers and investors."

The Moapa facility consists of four natural gas-fired combustion turbines, two steam turbines and four heat recovery steam generators operating in combined-cycle mode.

Nevada Power is planning to finance the acquisition and construction of the plant with a combination of internally generated cash and external financing. "Acquiring this facility is in line with our long-term strategy to reduce our dependence on power markets in order to provide safe, reliable electric service at a reasonable price to our customers while at the same time increasing value for our shareholders through prudent capital investments," Higgins said.

Additional details of the agreement will be provided in a separate filing with the PUCN.

In November 2003, Nevada Power received approval from the PUCN of its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which included construction of a 520 MW plant at the company's existing Harry Allen site. The company investigated a potential acquisition of a power plant being built by independent developers within southern Nevada as a potentially more economic option. Duke Energy's Moapa Facility was identified as the primary candidate and discussions commenced, leading to the agreement.

Webcast Today at 11 a.m., P.D.T

Senior executives with Nevada Power will review the acquisition during a conference call and live webcast today at 11 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. Interested parties can access the webcast at the following link: http://w.on24.com/event/6891/r.html

The webcast will also be accessible on the Sierra Pacific Resources web site

at: http://www.sierrapacificresources.com/investors/news/

An archived version of the webcast will remain on the Sierra Pacific Resources web site for approximately one month. To listen to a recording of the call by telephone, call 1-888-266-2081 and use the conference ID number, 499235, to access the recording.

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 700,000 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.

Forward Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the future performance of Nevada 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 satisfy any applicable closing conditions, construction risk related to the completion of the plant, Nevada Power's ability to access the capital markets to finance the acquisition on favorable terms and to obtain required regulatory approvals for the amendment to Nevada Power's IRP and for the financing of the acquisition. Additional cautionary statements regarding other risk factors that could have an effect on the future performance of Nevada Power Company are contained in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2004 and its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003, filed with the SEC. Nevada Power Company undertakes 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.

SOURCE: Nevada Power Company

CONTACT: Media, Andrea Smith, +1-702-367-5683, or Analysts, Vicki
Erickson, +1-775-834-5646, both of Sierra Pacific Resources, for Nevada Power
Company

Web site: http://w.on24.com/event/6891/r.html

Web site: http://www.sierrapacificresources.com/investors/news

Web site: http://www.sierrapacific.com/