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Exhibit 99.1
RENO, Nev., (July 12) Sierra Pacific Resources announced today that
unanticipated second quarter fuel and purchased power costs for the company's
two Nevada utility subsidiaries will likely exceed budgeted expenses by an
estimated $70-80 million.
"Similar to other electric utilities in the West, we have confronted an
unprecedented and extremely volatile energy market over the last several
months," said Mark Ruelle, senior vice president, chief financial officer and
treasurer for Sierra Pacific Resources. "As a result, we've been forced to pay
significantly more for fuel and purchased power than we had budgeted at the same
time that above-normal temperatures increased the demand for electricity,
particularly in southern Nevada.
"We expect fuel and purchased power expenses to have a negative impact on
second quarter earnings and an ongoing negative earnings impact for the
remainder of the year," Ruelle added.
The Company has pending litigation which, in combination with future energy cost
rate filings, would, if successful, mitigate the impact of these higher energy
costs. Court hearings are scheduled to begin July 13. The company is currently
involved in settlement discussions pertaining to these and other issues. The
company cannot predict the outcome of such discussions.
Headquartered in Reno, Nev., Sierra Pacific Resources is a holding company whose
principal subsidiaries are Nevada Power Co., the electric utility for southern
Nevada, and Sierra Pacific Power Co., the electric utility for most of northern
Nevada and the Lake Tahoe area of California, and a natural gas and water
distributor in the Reno - Sparks area. Other subsidiaries include the Tuscarora
Gas Pipeline Co., which owns 50 percent interest in an interstate natural gas
transmission partnership and Sierra Pacific Communications, a telecommunications
company.
