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Sierra Pacific Sells Southern Nevada Power Plant

12/5/2000

LCG, Dec. 5, 2000--Sierra Pacific Resources Inc. said yesterday its Nevada Power Co. subsidiary has agreed to sell its 72 megawatt Harry Allen Power Station near Las Vegas to Pinnacle West Energy, an affiliate of Arizona Public Service Co., for $69.81 million.

Nevada Power also negotiated the right to buy energy and ancillary services from Pinnacle West Energy for agreed upon prices at a cost of approximately $4.61 million based on the time of closing. This will result in a net price for the generating plant upon closing of $65.2 million, Sierra Pacific said.

Divestiture power plants was a condition imposed by regulators on the merger of Nevada Power with Sierra Pacific Power Co. that created Sierra Pacific Resources. The process is two-thirds complete.

"Following the sale of Harry Allen Station, there are three of nine bundles of generating assets thatremain to be sold," said Walter M. Higgins, Sierra Pacific chief executive. "These sales will benefit electric industry competition in Nevada and allow us to fully concentrate on building a premier transmission and distribution company in the West."

The Harry Allen plant is the newest of those being sold, having entered commercial operation in 1995. It is a combustion turbine facility fueled by natural gas with diesel as a backup. It is a remote-start facility located on a 6,000-acre site about 30 miles north of Las Vegas.