MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 3, 2004--NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) has named J. Philip Chesson to the newly created senior management position of Chief Risk Officer. In this role, reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, Chesson will identify, measure and develop strategies to assist in the management of the Company's risk from a corporate portfolio standpoint and centralize the risk management functions of all business lines.

"Philip's strong financial and risk management skills along with his experience in the industry will be instrumental as we continue to improve our comprehensive program for managing risk," said Robert Flexon, NRG Chief Financial Officer. "In addition, this appointment demonstrates NRG's continued commitment to a strong internal control environment and to actively managing risk throughout our business."

Chesson comes to NRG from Williams Companies where he held various executive positions including Vice President, Enterprise Risk Services and Vice President and Risk Control Officer, Energy Services. Prior to joining Williams in 1993, he served as Controller at Nortech Energy Company and from 1986 to 1991 he was a Supervising Senior Accountant at KPMG. Chesson, a Certified Public Accountant, holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Indiana University.

NRG Energy, Inc. owns and operates a diverse portfolio of power-generating facilities, primarily in the United States. Its operations include baseload, intermediate, peaking, and cogeneration facilities, thermal energy production and energy resource recovery facilities.

Certain statements included in this news release are forward-looking statements within the meaning Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements above include, but are not limited to, the success in identifying, measuring and developing strategies to manage the Company's risk. Although NRG believes that its expectations are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct.

Factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those contemplated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the potential that the Company won't adequately identify, measure and develop strategies the manage the Company's risks or that even if developed and implemented, that such measures will prevent Company losses resulting from management's exercise of its reasonable business judgment or resulting from external factors such as hazards customary in the power industry, increasing competition in the wholesale power market, the volatility of energy and fuel prices, failure of customers to perform under contracts, changes in the wholesale power markets and related government regulation, the condition of capital markets generally, our ability to borrow additional funds and access capital markets, our substantial indebtedness and the possibility that we may incur additional indebtedness and our ability to generate sufficient cash flow to make interest payments on financing.

CONTACT: NRG Energy, Inc., Minneapolis
Investor Inquiries:
Katy Sullivan, 612-373-8875
or
Media Inquiries:
Lesa Bader, 612-373-6992

SOURCE: NRG Energy, Inc.