Nevada Power
Contact: Colin Duncan
Phone: (775) 834-4417

For Immediate Release

The following information is being released regarding the status of the renewable RFPs issued by Sierra Pacific Power and Nevada Power and the proposals received.

Sierra Pacific Power Company and Nevada Power Company, subsidiaries of Sierra Pacific Resources, each issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) in October 2001 to solicit proposals for electricity generated from projects fueled by renewable resources. The closing date for submitting proposals to each utility was November 30, 2001.

Sierra Pacific Power received a total of 30 proposals from 23 bidders totaling the following:

	Maximum Capacity - MW	Maximum Energy - MWh
Wind Generation	1,665	6,000,000
Solar Generation	121	159,000
Geothermal / Biomass Generation	663	3,313,000
Total	2,449	9,472,000

Nevada Power Company received a total of 19 proposals from 15 bidders totaling the following:

	Maximum Capacity - MW	Maximum Energy - MWh
Wind Generation	1,460	5,177,000
Solar Generation	264	476,000
Geothermal / Biomass Generation	121	673,000
Total	1,845	6,326,000

Both utilities intend to notify all bidders whether individual proposals have complied with the requirements of the RFP in the next two weeks.

Each utility shall perform evaluations of the proposals submitted and shall submit by February 28, 2002, to the regulatory operations staff of the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada and the bureau of consumer protection all proposals and the utilities'recommendations on which of the proposals should be accepted by the utilities.

Each utility shall provide updates to the RFP process and evaluations periodically on their respective web sites under the articles regarding issuance of renewable RFPs.

Any information regarding the RFPs not contained in the website articles is considered confidential and shall not be provided publicly by the utilities.