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Sierra Pacific Power Company today made its first quarterly natural gas energy rate adjustment filing with the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN).  The filing requests a $7.3 million, or nearly a 4% decrease for Reno-Sparks area gas customers.

Nevada legislation allows Nevada's natural gas utilities to file quarterly rate adjustments to their Base Tariff Energy Rates (BTER).  Sierra Pacific began a similar quarterly filing schedule for their electric rates in August 2007.

These energy rates are set to recover costs the utility pays to purchase natural gas from external suppliers in order to serve customers. These costs are passed on, dollar-for-dollar, with no profit to the company. The quarterly filings are designed to lessen the potential for buildup of large balances in costs for natural gas, thereby reducing the possibility of large annual rate adjustments for customers.

For a typical Sierra Pacific Power residential customer in northern Nevada using 59 therms of natural gas, the filing means a $3 decrease in monthly bills from $79.57 to $76.57. The decrease will become effective April 1, 2008.

These quarterly natural gas rate filings will now be made at the same time Sierra Pacific files quarterly electric energy rates with the PUCN and will result in rate adjustments April 1, July 1, October 1 and January 1 each year.

Sierra Pacific serves approximately 149,000 natural gas customers in the Reno-Sparks area.

Headquartered in Nevada, Sierra Pacific Resources (NYSE:SRP) 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 PowerCompany also distributes natural gas in the Reno-Sparks area of northern Nevada.

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