Sierra Pacific Power Company
Contact: Karen Foster
Phone: (775) 834-5683

For Immediate Release

Sierra Pacific Power announced that a new record system peak of 1,619 megawatts was recorded at 4 p.m. yesterday, July 21. The prior system peak of 1,590 megawatts occurred on July 10, 2002 (one megawatt will power approximately 600 homes and businesses).

The condition yellow alert that was called on July 21, 2003 was lifted on Monday at 8 p.m. The temporary mechanical problems at one of the generation units at the company's Valmy power plant were repaired late Monday afternoon, and the unit was back in operation at about 3 p.m. Customer conservation efforts helped to reduce electricity demand during the day and into the evening.

Sierra Pacific serves approximately 325,000 customers in northern Nevada and the Lake Tahoe area of California.

Although Sierra Pacific's electrical system has returned to normal operations, the hot weather pattern with little cooling will continue to cause increased demand for electricity. Therefore, Sierra Pacific continues to recommend that customers to conserve energy. This could include turning off or raising the thermostat on air conditioning units, delaying the use of large household appliances like dishwashers, washing machines and electric clothes dryers until evening or early morning hours, and turning off lights and computers when not in use.

Additional helpful conservation tips can be found on the company's website at:

www.sierrapacific.com/conservation/