Sierra Pacific Resources
Contact: Faye Andersen
Phone: 775-834-4822

For Immediate Release

Reno, NV -- Sierra Pacific Resources (SRP:NYSE) today said it has submitted extensive documentation to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) demonstrating that its utility subsidiary, Sierra Pacific Power Company,"did not engage in gaming in violation of the Cal ISO or Cal PX tariffs, nor in the manipulation of the Western energy market."

The submission by Sierra Pacific provides detailed information supporting the validity of an"unknown" transaction valued at $6,391 that was referenced in a FERC report issued Wednesday, March 26, 2003. In one section of"The Final Report on Price Manipulation in Western Markets," the FERC staff recommended that the Commission require all market participants identified in the Cal ISO Report dated January 6, 2003, to show cause why their behavior did not constitute gaming in violation of the Cal ISO and Cal PX tariffs. Sierra Pacific Power was listed along with 36 other companies in this section of the report.

Walter Higgins, chairman, president and CEO of Sierra Pacific Resources, said,"We believe the materials we have submitted to the FERC make it very clear that Sierra Pacific Power was not involved in the manipulation of the Western energy market. Throughout the past year we have stated many times that the energy crisis in the West was the direct result of price manipulation leading to a dysfunctional marketplace. We applaud the FERC for identifying this problem and we welcome the close examination of all issues regarding what went on during the 2000-2001 crisis."