The Department of Justice (DOJ) has given Sierra Pacific Powerand Nevada Power – the two largest providers of electricity andnatural gas in Nevada – a clean bill of health on the antitrustaspects of their proposed merger. The DOJ action came in the wakeof FERC’s approval of the $4 billion transaction last Wednesday.

“This is another step that brings us closer to the completion ofour vision of creating a western utility that benefits all of ourcustomers,” said Malyn K. Malquist, CEO, president and chairman ofSierra Pacific Resources, parent of Sierra Pacific Power.

The merger partners still must comply with a Nevada PublicService Commission order issued last December, requiring them tocarry out the divestiture of their power generation facilities. Inaddition, the Securities Exchange Commission must sign off on thedeal. The utilities hope to close the merger by the end of thesecond quarter.

In the event the approvals are forthcoming, both Reno-basedSierra Pacific Power and Nevada Power of Las Vegas will be combinedinto Sierra Pacific Resources to serve more than 800,000 electricusers and 100,000 natural gas customers in southern and northernNevada and in the Lake Tahoe area of California. Sierra PacificResources also owns a 50% interest in Tuscarora Gas Pipeline.

The new company would have annual customers and kilowatt-hoursales growth of 5% and 7% respectively, the highest in the nation,according to the merger partners. And based on 1997 results, totalrevenues would be approximately $1.5 billion, with annual earningsof about $160 million and assets of $4.3 billion.

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