Innovest Report to Raise Serious Concerns About Sierra Pacific's Increased Reliance...

Innovest Report to Raise Serious Concerns About Sierra Pacific's Increased
Reliance on Coal-Fired Power in Nevada

Ely Generating Facility Would Put Utility at Odds With Shift Away From Coal
Risks in Favor of More Emphasis on Renewables; Major Concerns Seen for
Shareholders, Ratepayers in Company's Approach.

A new report to be released by the respected Wall Street firm Innovest on
April 1, 2008 will raise serious doubts about plans by the investor-owned
utility Sierra Pacific Resources (Sierra Pacific) to significantly increase
its use of coal at a time of rising power plant construction costs, increased
likelihood of regulatory curbs on carbon, heightened concerns about global
warming pollution, and other unaddressed risks to investors and shareholders.
In addition, the new Innovest report will make the case that Sierra Pacific is
largely missing the opportunities presented by investments in alternative
energy resources such as wind and solar, which are ideally suited to Nevada.

The report will be released at 10:30 a.m. PDT/1:30 p.m. EDT during a
telephone-based news event (with live Q&A).

The report will show that Sierra Pacific's strategy is not in keeping with
general industry trends and also does not address recent regulatory and
economic trends that continue to shift the competitive balance away from new
coal-fired generation. For example, the completion of the first 1,500 MW at
the Ely facility would sharply increase Sierra Pacific's reliance on
coal-fired generation from 18 percent of owned capacity to an estimated 38
percent.

News event speakers will be:

-- Innovest Utilities Analyst Eric Kane;

-- Former Nevada Public Utility Commission (PUC) Commissioner and Nevada State
Consumer Advocate Tim Hay; and

-- Theo Spencer, Climate Center Natural Resources Defense Council.

TO PARTICIPATE: Join this live, phone-based news conference (with full,
two-way Q&A) at 10:30 a.m. PDT/1:30 p.m. EDT on April 1, 2008 by dialing 1
(800) 860-2442. Ask for the "Innovest report on Sierra Pacific" news event.

CAN'T PARTICIPATE?: A streaming audio replay of this news event will be
available as of 3:30 p.m. MDT/6:30 p.m. EDT on April 1, 2008 at
http://www.nrdc.org.

CONTACT: Patrick Mitchell at (703) 276-3266 or pmitchell@hastingsgroup.com.

ABOUT SIERRA PACIFIC

Sierra Pacific Resources (Sierra Pacific) is an investor-owned corporation
with operating subsidiaries engaged in the utility business, principally in
the State of Nevada. The company's chief operating subsidiaries are Nevada
Power Company, which serves approximately 807,000 electric customers in Las
Vegas and surrounding areas of southern Nevada; and Sierra Pacific Power
Company, which has approximately 361,000 electric customers in northern Nevada
and the Lake Tahoe area of northern California, and provides natural gas
service to approximately 146,000 customers in the Reno-Sparks metropolitan
area of northern Nevada. Sierra Pacific Resources has a combined winter
generating capacity of 4,703 MW (18 percent coal, 50 percent gas, and 32
percent gas/oil) and annual revenues of approximately $3 billion.

In January 2006, Sierra Pacific announced plans to develop a coal-fired power
plant in Ely, Nevada. The proposed facility would serve customers of both
Sierra Pacific Power Company and Nevada Power Company; and would utilize two
750 MW coal-fired generating units. The facility would be expanded to include
two 500 MW coal gasification units once the technology is deemed to be
commercially viable. Current estimates indicate that the project including a
250-mile transmission line will cost in excess of $5 billion.

In 2007, more than 50 proposed coal-fired power plants in 20 states were
cancelled or delayed. Although these cancellations and delays can be in part
attributed to rising construction costs and coal transportation problems,
regulators are increasingly denying approval for coal power plants on the
basis of concern over climate change.

CONTACT: Patrick Mitchell, +1-703-276-3266, pmitchell@hastingsgroup.com, for
Innovest, NYC

/PRNewswire-USNewswire -- March 31/

SOURCE Innovest, NYC