February 9, 2009

Washington, D.C. - Nevada Senator Harry Reid today made the following statement regarding NV Energy's decision to postpone construction of the Ely Energy Center coal plant and speed up development of an important transmission line.

"I applaud NV Energy's decision to speed up the development of an important transmission line and to postpone construction of its Ely Energy Center coal plant. This decision, as well as its recent efforts to add highly efficient natural gas units to its generation fleet, will help facilitate the development of even more renewable energy resources in Nevada and move our state more quickly toward a clean energy future. Further, these efforts will help its customers, employees and shareholders prosper by keeping long-term costs down, increasing reliability and laying the foundation for creating thousands of good-paying Nevada jobs. I look forward to working with NV Energy on a shared vision to make Nevada energy independent and the world leader in clean renewable energy."