MINNEAPOLIS (November 3, 1999) -- NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG Energy), a wholly owned subsidiary of Northern States Power Company (NYSE: NSP), announced today that its power marketing unit, NRG Power Marketing Inc., has been awarded a contract to supply approximately 40 percent of The Connecticut Light and Power Company’s (CL&P) Standard Offer load. NRG Energy won the four-year contract valued at $1.7 billion in a competitive bidding process conducted by J.P. Morgan as the exclusive agent for the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control.

CL&P, a wholly owned subsidiary of Northeast Utilities, in accordance with Public Act 98-28, An Act Concerning Electric Restructuring, was allowed to competitively procure 50 percent of its four-year Standard Offer Service requirements. Standard Offer Service is the electric generation services provided by an electric distribution company to any customer who either chooses to receive electric generation services from the host distribution company or does not, or is not able to, arrange for or maintain electric generation service with an electric supplier.

NRG Energy owns or has binding purchase agreements to acquire approximately 2,400 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity in the New England Power Pool. Upon completion of pending acquisitions, NRG Energy will own more than 12,500 MW of generating capacity, with approximately 7,000 MW in the northeast United States.

NRG Power Marketing Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of NRG Energy. Established in 1989, NRG Energy is one of the world's leading independent power producers, specializing in the development, construction, operation, maintenance and ownership of low-cost, environmentally responsible power plants. NRG Energy has a high quality portfolio of projects in the United States, Europe, the Pacific Rim, and Latin America utilizing such diverse fuel sources as fossil fuels, biomass, landfill gas, hydro, refuse derived fuel and geothermal energy.

Certain information included in this press release contains statements that are forward-looking. Such forward-looking information involves risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results in the future and, accordingly, such results may differ from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of NRG Energy. For more information regarding these risks and uncertainties, review NRG Energy’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Media Contact:

Frank Rapley
NRG Energy, Inc.
(612) 373-8892
e-mail: frank.rapley@nrgenergy.com