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

For Immediate Release

Las Vegas, Nev.--Nevada Power Company, a subsidiary of Sierra Pacific Resources (NYSE:SRP), today filed with the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) a Resource Plan featuring both short- and long-term objectives covering the 20-year period from 2003 through 2022.

The filing includes a three-year Action Plan that describes the actions, specific projects and budgets that the company is proposing to implement during calendar years 2004-2006 as well as an update to the Energy Supply Plan that was filed with the PUCN in January.

"The 2003 Nevada Power Electric Resource Plan represents an important step forward toward a return to more stable and predictable electricity pricing for the benefit of our customers," said Michael Yackira, executive vice president of strategy and policy for Sierra Pacific Resources."It is the first full electric resource plan filed by Nevada Power since the events surrounding 2000-2001 western energy crisis and it reflects a very different approach to filling the growing need for electricity in southern Nevada. Among the many benefits will be reduced dependence on volatile wholesale power markets which were the source of the power cost run-ups in that time frame."

The company is seeking approval from the PUCN on a number of elements including:

• Approval to construct a combustion turbine generating plant prior to the summer peak of 2006
• Approval to construct a 520 MW combined cycle generating plant with an in-service date prior to the 2007 summer peak
• Investigate the feasibility of constructing a state-of-the- art, environmentally acceptable coal-fired power plant
• Approval of conservation and energy efficiency programs
• Acceptance of the Company's plan to reserve up to 650 MW of additional native load transmission rights on the Centennial Transmission Project following the construction of the Harry Allen to Mead 500 kV transmission line, the final leg of the Centennial Project.

In addition, the Action Plan includes the following items:

• Issuance of an RFP for long-term purchase power contracts
• Issuance of an RFP to meet the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard through 2007.
The company is required to file a Resource Plan every three years. The PUCN is expected to hold public hearings make and decision on the Resource Plan by mid-November.

Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada Power is the principal electric utility in southern Nevada. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sierra Pacific Resources (NYSE: SRP), which also is the holding company for 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 of Sierra Pacific Resources include the Tuscarora Gas Pipeline Company, which owns 50 percent interest in an interstate natural gas transmission partnership, Sierra Pacific Communications, a telecommunications company, and Sierra Pacific Energy (e-three), an energy conservation services company.

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