Sierra Pacific Resources
Contact: Robert Sagan
Phone: (775) 834-4834

For Immediate Release

A combination of hot weather and the region's continuing population growth caused record electric use Monday and Tuesday, July 7 and 8, according to Reno, Nev.-based Sierra Pacific Power Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sierra Pacific Resources (NYSE: SRP)

Between 5 and 6 p.m. on Monday, Sierra Pacific's customers were using 1,230 megawatts of electricity, surpassing the company's previous all-time high of 1,226 megawatts on January 13, 1997. The record was broken again Tuesday in the same hour, when electric use soared to 1,274 megawatts, just shy of the utility's forecasted peak.

According to Sierra Pacific, events of the last few days underscore the current need for the Alturas transmission intertie line. Sierra says Alturas will provide northern Nevada with a new energy source of 300 megawatts from utilities in the Pacific Northwest and will improve Sierra's system reliability.

Sierra Pacific serves more than 278,000 electric customers in northern Nevada and northeastern California. Note: A megawatt of electricity is enough to serve approximately 650 households in Sierra Pacific's service territory.