Media Contact: Adam Grant, (702) 402-5222

Analyst Contact:   Britta Carlson, (702) 402-5624

Sierra Pacific Resources' electric utilities were ranked second in the nation in four areas of the Solar Electric Power Association's (SEPA) “Top 10 Solar Electric Utilities poll released today.  

Michael Yackira, president and chief executive officer of Sierra Pacific Resources, said,"We are very pleased with this recognition that underscores our company's ongoing commitment to renewable energy in meeting our customers'needs.   We remain dedicated not only to the use of solar power in our service areas but also to geothermal, wind and other sources of renewable power.  Our state is already No. 1 in solar and geothermal power per capita and we intend to maintain our concentration on renewables for decades to come."

"Sierra Pacific Resources has recently emerged as a leader in the solar marketplace and we are pleased to recognize it in our Top Ten rankings,"said Julia Hamm, SEPA executive director. "This utility has demonstrated its commitment to increasing the percentage of solar in its overall energy mix through the long-term contract to buy the power generated by the 64-megawatt Nevada Solar One plant, through its support of the largest photovoltaic plant in North America at Nellis Air Force base, and through the expansion of their SolarGenerations program for residential, commercial and governmental customers."

The Solar Electric Power Association is a nonprofit organization, formed in 1992 as the Utility Photovoltaic Group. SEPA is comprised of 300 utility and solar industry members.

Following are the SEPA rankings pertinent to Sierra Pacific Resources.  The overall SEPA news release issued today is attached.

The four categories for which the companies were ranked second in the country are:

• Total Solar Electric Capacity per Customer (MW/customer)  All Utilities
• Total Solar Electric Capacity per Customer (MW/customer)  Investor Owned Utilities
• Solar Electric Capacity on Utility Side of the Meter (MW): All Utilities
• Solar Electric Power per Customer on the Utility Side of the Meter (MW/customer) All Utilities

The company was also ranked third in the country in Total Solar Electric Capacity (MW) All Utilities and Total Solar Electric Capacity (MW) Investor Owned Utilities.

Headquartered in Nevada, Sierra Pacific Resources 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 Power Company also distributes natural gas in the Reno-Sparks area of northern Nevada.