Washington-St. Tammany Electric and Claiborne Electric Renew Power Supply Contracts with Louisiana Generating

Published on Thursday, 02 February 2012 12:13 Written by TradersHuddle Staff

NEW ROADS, La.-( Business Wire )-

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG), through its subsidiary, Louisiana Generating, has entered into definitive agreements for an 11-year contract extension through 2025 to provide power to the Washington-St. Tammany Electric and Claiborne Electric cooperatives. Both cooperatives filed applications with the Louisiana Public Service Commission on February 1 seeking approval of the agreements.

“Louisiana Generating is pleased to continue our relationship with Washington-St Tammany Electric and Claiborne Electric. As an independent power generation company, we provide a perfect partnership for not-for-profit electric distribution cooperatives that has resulted in some of the lowest residential rates in the state,” said Jennifer Vosburg, President of Louisiana Generating. “When compared to rates of competing utilities, the rates we are able to offer our cooperative customers attract members to their area and help them grow; and we will be able to meet their load growth needs for years to come.”

Together, the two contracts are for more than 450 megawatts of electrical load at peak demand.

“Claiborne Electric is very proud that, month after month, it has been able to provide the lowest residential rates in the state of Louisiana. Working with Louisiana Generating to extend the existing contract with favorable terms allows our cooperative membership to continue to enjoy competitively priced and reliable power,” said Mark Brown, General Manager of Claiborne.

“Washington-St. Tammany has been providing the lowest rates in the tri-parish area comprised of Washington, St. Tammany, and Tangipahoa parishes for the last ten years as a result of its partnership with Louisiana Generating . With the extension of our agreement, I feel we can continue to do so. The ability to continue to offer affordable power with price certainty was an important factor in continuing our relationship with Louisiana Generating. Louisiana Generating has the power to serve our members for the long term,” said Charles Hill, General Manager of Washington-St. Tammany.

NRG Energy and its subsidiary, Louisiana Generating, own a diverse fleet of electrical generating stations in the region. The ultra efficient, natural gas-fueled Cottonwood combined cycle plant sets the bar in the region for low cost fossil-fueled generation while the Big Cajun II plant uses low sulfur coal and controls to reduce nitrogen oxide and particulate matter to produce affordable power in an environmentally responsible fashion.

“As a wholesale provider that must compete in the marketplace, Louisiana Generating works hard to keep costs low for our customers,” said Vosburg. “While some energy analysts express concerns that regulated utilities are using recent EPA regulations to increase their rate bases and revenues, which will in turn increase costs on their customers, we don’t work that way.”

Louisiana Generating has submitted comments to the Louisiana Public Service Commission regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) that show how the company constantly strives to meet compliance requirements while working to mitigate environmental compliance costs.

“With the flexibility that we worked into our compliance plan, Louisiana Generating was able to adjust to the changing CSAPR compliance requirements. If CSAPR is reinstated, we are prepared to comply with the rule on time and without the need to add expensive new generation to meet our contracted services,” added Vosburg. “Our approach means reduced risk and lower costs for our customers.”

Cooperative customers extending contracts with Louisiana Generating preserve historic transmission rights invaluable to ensuring reliable electricity supply. “As the second largest user of transmission in the Entergy footprint, our long term use and knowledge of Entergy’s transmission system translates into benefits for our customers, both now and if Entergy moves to the MISO independent regional transmission organization as it has proposed,” said Vosburg. “In addition to serving existing customers, an Entergy move to MISO would allow new communities to benefit from the low cost, reliable power that NRG and Louisiana Generating provide in the region.”

About Louisiana Generating and NRG Energy

NRG Energy, Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiaries Louisiana Generating LLC and NRG Power Marketing LLC, manages a diverse portfolio of load and generation along the Gulf Coast. Louisiana Generating LLC serves the full requirements needs for 10 Louisiana electric cooperatives with a peak demand of over 2,300 MW. The total generation portfolio exceeds 3,600 MW, and includes a diverse mix of coal and gas-fired generation in Louisiana and East Texas. NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 Index company, owns and operates one of the country’s largest and most diverse power generation portfolios. Headquartered in Princeton, NJ, the Company’s power plants provide more than 25,000 megawatts of generation capacity—enough to supply nearly 20 million homes. More information is available at www.nrgenergy.com.

Safe Harbor Disclosure

This news release contains forward-looking statements of NRG Energy, Inc. within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions and include expectations regarding its subsidiary, Louisiana Generating, and certain power supply contracts. These forward-looking statements typically can be identified by the use of words such as “will,” “expect,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “forecast,” “plan,” “believe” and similar terms. Although NRG believes that its expectations are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct, and actual results may vary materially. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated above include, among others, general economic conditions, hazards customary in the power industry, the volatility of energy and fuel prices, failure of customers to perform under contracts, changes in government regulation of markets and of environmental emissions, the condition of capital markets generally, and weather conditions.

NRG undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The foregoing review of factors that could cause NRG’s actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the forward-looking statements included in this news release should be considered in connection with information regarding risks and uncertainties that may affect NRG’s future results included in NRG’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.

NRG Energy, Inc.Media:Meredith Moore, 609-524-4522David Knox, 713-537-2130Lori Neuman, 609-524-4525orInvestors:Chad Plotkin, 609-524-4526Stefan Kimball, 609-524-4527