Nevada Power
Contact: Andrea Smith
Phone: (702) 367-5683

For Immediate Release

Honolulu, Hawaii— Today at the EEI Annual Convention and Expo, Nevada Power Company and Invensys announced that they would conduct a three phase marketing pilot of the GoodWatts™ energy management system in southern Nevada this summer, and through 2004. The pilot will test an energy management system designed toreduce peak power demands with a resulting benefit for homeowners and utilities as well as the environment in general.

GoodWatts, a new energy management system, allows utilities to remotely control air conditioning systems and other high load appliances over a managed and secure IP network. By using a secure Internet site, homeowners can view their electricity consumption and control their in-house systems. Operating over an existing"always on"connection, GoodWatts gives both utilities and homeowners a tool to help manage energy consumption. As a result, the utility is able to reduce capacity requirements during some peak periods when demands on the electrical grid are typically the highest.

The pilot, primarily focused in Las Vegas, will occur in three phases over the two years and will ultimately include more than 1000 residences. The first phase this summer will include approximately 50 homes in the Las Vegas area. The companies want to learn how homes and homeowners will react to having the GoodWatts system in place and will use the initial findings to fine-tune the program with each phase going forward.

The GoodWatts system works by shifting large household energy loads from peak to off-peak times of the day (when energy is usually less expensive for the utility to generate or purchase). The system gathers data on the immediate (real time) energy requirements of specific loads in each home. This information gives the utility the ability to control loads during peak periods in an environmentally sensitive and cost effective way.

At the same time, the system gives the homeowner a tool to proactively manage monthly energy costs. The GoodWatts system can be installed in any home with access to an"always on"network, such as cable, DSL or wireless. However, a customer who uses the GoodWatts system need not be a subscriber to any service in order to benefit from this system.

By supplying real-time, verifiable data on energy usage, the GoodWatts system allows the utility to more effectively exercise a load management plan across the connected GoodWatts devices. However, while GoodWatts is a very powerful tool that works to the benefit of the utility, ultimate control of individual home devices still remains with the homeowner.

The GoodWatts system creates a new way of thinking in how utilities perform load management, manage their capacity portfolio, meet security and reliability requirements, and how they interface with their residential customers. Nevada Power is planning to learn from this summer's pilot and, with approval from the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, hopes to extend the GoodWatts system pilot to more homes in its service territory in the later phases.

Walt Higgins, chairman and CEO of Sierra Pacific Resources, the parent company of Nevada Power Company, said,"The GoodWatts system is setting a new standard in residential energy management and as our community continues to grow, it is our responsibility to provide customers with a variety of choices in order to better manage their energy consumption. We are excited to test this new service and welcome the opportunity to bring the benefits of this new technology to Nevada homes."

By decreasing the requirements for peaking power, the GoodWatts system may also have a positive environmental impact by reducing the use of non- renewable fuel sources during peak periods. Amory Lovins of Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) has stated,"Always-on residential load management systems that can provide firm negawatts represent a promising new market to provide demand response for residential customers. RMI is confident that this truly innovative approach will allow consumers to control their electrical demand, from air conditioners to future"smart"appliances, automatically in response to price signals, without creating inconvenience. RMI also believes that these types of systems can cost less than new capacity, reducing the need for new power generation plants, transmission and distribution lines, resulting in lower fuel use and emissions, and ultimately lower electricity rates for consumers."

Invensys has been developing and testing the GoodWatts system over the last two years and the resulting product is truly a unique approach to load management. Historically known as a manufacturer of hardware components, Invensys created the GoodWatts system using its expertise in hardware as well as experience in product integration to create a system of communicating products.

"Invensys has been a long time leading manufacturer of HVAC controls, appliance controls, and environmental systems. With the GoodWatts system, we have leveraged that experience to create a system that interacts with points in the home, giving a new level of control to the homeowner,P said Jim Devlin, President of Invensys Home Control Systems."In addition, because the system measures loads and reductions in load with high accuracy, it is truly the first tool of its kind that works effectively for both the utility. Invensys sees the GoodWatts system as an economically viable service that will be the first of many Invensys enabled services to be delivered to the home over an always-on connection."

About Nevada Power

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 a 50 percent interest in an interstate natural gas transmission partnership, several unregulated energy services companies and Sierra Pacific Communications, a telecommunications network development company.

About Invensys

Invensys is a global leader in production technology. The group helps customers improve productivity, performance and profitability using innovative services and technologies and a deep understanding of their industries and applications.

Dru Mears
Invensys Home Control Systems
(804) 289-4480
Dru.Mears@invensys.com

Invensys operates in more than 60 countries, with its headquarters in London. For more information, visitwww.invensys.com.

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