LAS VEGAS, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sierra Pacific Resources
(NYSE: SRP) today announced that Philip G. Satre has been elected to its board
of directors, effective immediately.  Satre also joins the boards of Sierra
Pacific's two utility subsidiaries, Sierra Pacific Power Company and Nevada
Power Company.
    Satre, 55, retired as chairman of the board of Harrah's Entertainment,
Inc., on January 1, 2005, ending a 25-year career during which he was
instrumental in Harrah's growth from a company with just two Nevada casinos
and another under development in Atlantic City to one of the world's gaming
giants with approximately $4.7 billion in annual revenues and 28 casinos.  The
proposed acquisition of Caesars Entertainment, if consummated as expected
during 2005, would make Harrah's Entertainment the largest casino company in
the world.
    Walter Higgins, chairman and chief executive officer of Sierra Pacific
Resources, said, "Phil Satre brings a wealth of business acumen to our
company.  His knowledge of the gaming and entertainment industry,
investor-owned company management and his close ties with all of Nevada will
be invaluable in providing guidance as our company moves forward."
    Satre joined Harrah's as vice president, general counsel and secretary in
1980 and held key operating and senior management roles through the years.  He
was named president and chief executive of the Harrah's gaming division in
1984, elected to the company's board of directors in 1988, became CEO of
Harrah's Entertainment in 1993 and added the chairman's responsibilities in
1997.  He stepped down as CEO in January 2003 but stayed on as chairman of the
board.
    Satre is a member of the board of directors of the National Center for
Responsible Gaming, the Nevada Cancer Institute and TAPCORP Holdings Limited
(Australia).  He is on the board of trustees for The National D-Day Museum
Foundation and the UC Davis School of Law Alumni Association.
    A graduate of Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Psychology, Satre earned a law degree from the University of California,
Davis, in 1975.  Prior to joining Harrah's, he was an attorney with a Reno law
firm for five years.
    Satre has received numerous awards and honors.  These include The American
Gaming Summit's "Lifetime Achievement Award" (January 2003); Chief Executive
Magazine's recognition as one of the nation's top 100 Chief Executives (May
2002); Casino Journal's "Gaming Executive of the Year" (December 1998); and
the Wall Street Transcript's "best chief executive in the casino and hotel
industries" (1995).
    The University of Nevada's Board of Regents named Satre a "Distinguished
Nevadan" in 1989 and the National Conference of Christians and Jews named him
"Humanitarian of the Year" for its Northern Nevada Region that same year.  In
1990 he was awarded the first annual Robert L. Custer Award from the National
Council on Problem Gambling for his leadership role in addressing the gambling
addiction issue.  He was elected to the American Gaming Association's Hall of
Fame in July 2003.
    Satre's term as a Sierra Pacific Resources' director will run until the
May 2005 annual meeting of the corporation.

    Headquartered in Nevada, Sierra Pacific Resources is a holding company
whose principal subsidiaries are Nevada Power Company, the electric utility
for most of southern Nevada, and Sierra Pacific Power Company, the electric
utility for most of northern Nevada and the Lake Tahoe area of California.
Sierra Pacific Power Company also distributes natural gas in the Reno-Sparks
area of northern Nevada.  Other subsidiaries include the Tuscarora Gas
Pipeline Company, which owns 50 percent interest in an interstate natural gas
transmission partnership and several unregulated energy services companies.

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