Sierra Pacific Power Company
Contact: Faye I. Andersen
Phone: (775) 834-4822

For Immediate Release

Sierra Pacific Power announced today it would begin lowering prices for its Reno-Sparks natural gas customers by approximately three percent, beginning November 1.

The company is lowering its prices by $4 million, resulting in a decrease of $1.53 per month for the typical residential customer using 52 therms of natural gas.

"This is good news for our customers as we enter the winter heating season. It's the second decrease in natural gas prices in nine months," said Sierra Pacific Power President Jeff Ceccarelli. The company decreased natural gas prices by approximately three percent in January of this year.

Sierra Pacific made its annual mandatory filing, known as a Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA), with the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) on May 15, 2003. The PUCN today approved an agreement between the company, the PUCN Staff and the Bureau of Consumer Protection that resulted in the decrease.

PGA filings do not include any profit or operating costs for the company, but only reflect the price of natural gas the company buys on behalf of its customers. Nevada regulations require utilities to purchase the gas, keep track of the expenses, and then seek reimbursement over time, based on actual costs.

Sierra Pacific Power serves approximately 125,000 natural gas customers in the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area. Sierra Pacific Power is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sierra Pacific Resources (SRP:NYSE).

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