Media Contacts:
Adam Grant, 702-402-5222
Karl Walquist, 775-834-3891
Investor Contact:Britta Carlson, 702-402-5624

Sierra Pacific Resources (NYSE: SRP) today announced that, effective immediately, the company's utilities, Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company, will do business under the name NV Energy.

The company also announced that it will seek shareholders'approval to amend its corporate charter to reflect a corporate name change from Sierra Pacific Resources to NV Energy, Inc. Subject to shareholders'approval, Sierra Pacific Resources would assume the NV Energy name at the time of such approval.

The immediate name change announced today for the utilities consolidates under a single brand a company that serves a 54,500-square-mile service territory that stretches north to south from Elko to Laughlin and provides a wide range of energy services and products serving more than 2.4 million Nevadans and a state tourist population exceeding 40 million annually.

"The name NV Energy more accurately reflects the company's ongoing effort to be the premier provider of energy in Nevada for Nevadans,"said Michael Yackira, the company's president and CEO."The energy needs of our state demand a singular focus, and we will be better able to meet those needs if we are one company with one consistent vision for Nevada's energy future."

NV Energy will continue to focus on a statewide three-part energy strategy that emphasizes energy efficiency and conservation, the development of new renewable resources, and adding generation that uses the cleanest available technologies.

"We are committed to supporting the latest technologies for the benefit of Nevada's energy consumers,"Yackira said."We will maximize successful programs already in place, such as rooftop solar power and increased conservation efforts, and we will take the lead in exploring new opportunities, including advanced battery storage technology and plug-in, hybrid electric vehicles."

Nevada Power Company merged with Sierra Pacific Power Company and its holding company, Sierra Pacific Resources, in 1999. Since then, many of the functions at the two companies have been consolidated to reduce operating costs.

"Creation of a single name and brand represents the next logical step in the process of fully merging the two companies,"Yackira said.

Headquartered in Nevada, Sierra Pacific Resources is a holding company whose principal subsidiaries were known as 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. The subsidiaries now operate as NV Energy.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements regarding the future performance of Sierra Pacific Resources and its subsidiaries, Nevada Power Company and 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. For Sierra Pacific Resources, these risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, obtaining approval from its shareholders of the amendment to its corporate charter to reflect the name change. For Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company, these risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, continued regulatory support for the companies'integrated resource plans and conservation programs. Additional cautionary statements regarding other risk factors that could have an effect on the future performance of Sierra Pacific Resources, Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company are contained in their Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31 and June 30, 2008, and their Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, filed with the SEC. The companies undertake 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.