Sierra Pacific Power's newest power plant will reduce northern Nevada's dependence on electricity purchased from out-of-state suppliers. It will improve the reliability of the region's power grid and expand the utility's capacity to serve customers'growing energy needs, according to Michael Yackira, president and chief executive officer of Sierra Pacific Power's parent company, Sierra Pacific Resources (NYSE: SRP).

Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons, other state and local officials and company executives joined Yackira on Wednesday to dedicate the 541-megawatt Tracy Combined Cycle Plant located about 17 miles east of Reno-Sparks at the Tracy Generating Station in Storey County. Construction of the $467 million project began in the first quarter of 2006.

Instead of cutting a ribbon at the dedication ceremony, Gibbons and Yackira cut chains to symbolize the end of northern Nevada's dependence on outside energy suppliers.

"The Tracy Combined Cycle Plant will increase Sierra Pacific Power's generating capacity by more than 50 percent, making northern Nevada virtually energy self-sufficient,"Yackira said."It will be the most efficient generating plant in Sierra Pacific's system and require about one third less fuel than our other plants. That will result in cost savings to customers and reduce northern Nevada's exposure to volatile market prices from sources outside the state."

Because the power plant is air cooled, it uses significantly less water than similar facilities utilizing older technologies, Yackira added.

The power plant consists of two combustion turbine generators, similar to the turbines that power jet airplanes. They are combined with two heat  recovery steam generators that capture waste heat from the turbines that is then used to produce steam to power a single steam turbine generator.

About 500 employees in various trades were involved in the power plant's construction. Principal contractors for the project were LG Constructors, a CH2M HILL subsidiary, for engineering procurement and construction services; General Electric, for combustion and steam turbine equipment; and Nooter/Ericksen, for the heat recovery steam generator. 

Headquartered in Reno, Sierra Pacific Power Company is the principal electric utility for most of northern Nevada and the Lake Tahoe area of California, and the natural gas distribution company for the Reno-Sparks area. The company serves approximately 366,000 electric customers and 149,000 natural gas customers. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sierra Pacific Resources, which also is the holding company for Nevada Power Company, the electric utility for southern Nevada.

Forward Looking Statements:  This press release may contain forward-looking statements regarding the future performance of Sierra Pacific Power Company, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.  These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the cautionary statements contained in Sierra Pacific Power Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2008 and its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, filed with the SEC.  Sierra Pacific Power Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.