PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 8, 2006--NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) today appointed William Hantke and Paul Hobby to the Company's Board of Directors. Hantke will serve on the Board's Audit and Nuclear Oversight Committees and Hobby will serve on the Commercial Operations Oversight and Nuclear Oversight Committees. Both Hantke and Hobby served as Directors of Texas Genco LLC, the Houston-based Company NRG acquired in February.

"I am especially pleased to welcome two Board members with such deep and varied business experience," said Howard A. Cosgrove, Chairman of the Board. "Bill is well equipped to serve as an advisor given his career in the energy business and his active history with the financial markets while Paul's record of achievement in entrepreneurial, financial and community endeavors provides NRG with excellent perspective on how our business affects a broad variety of stakeholders."

Hantke brings more than 30 years of finance experience to the Board. He served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Premcor, Inc., a refining company, from 2002 through 2005. He was with the refining and marketing company, Tosco Corporation, from 1993 through 2001, serving as Corporate Vice President of Development and earlier, as Corporate Controller and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to Tosco, Hantke was Senior Manager, Mergers and Acquisitions for Coopers and Lybrand and spent 13 years in various senior management positions with AMAX. He is a graduate of the Fordham University.

Hobby is founding Chairman of Genesis Park, L.P., a Houston-based private equity business specializing in technology and communications investments. In that capacity, he serves as the CEO of Alpheus Communications, Inc, a Texas wholesale telecommunications provider, and as Former Chairman of CapRock Services, Inc., the largest provider of satellite services to the global energy business. He serves on the boards of two other publicly traded companies: Eagle Global Logistics, Inc and Stewart Information Services, Inc. (Stewart Title). Hobby also served as Texas Lieutenant Governor Bullock's Chief of Staff and as an Assistant United States Attorney from 1989 to 1992. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Texas School of Law.

With the recent acquisition of Texas Genco LLC, NRG Energy, Inc. now owns and operates a diverse portfolio of power-generating facilities, primarily in Texas and the Northeast, South Central and Western regions of the United States. Its operations include baseload, intermediate, peaking, and cogeneration facilities, thermal energy production and energy resource recovery facilities. NRG also has ownership interests in generating facilities in Australia and Germany.

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions and typically can be identified by the use of words such as "will," "expect," "believe," and similar terms. Although NRG believes that its expectations are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct, and actual results may vary materially.

NRG undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The foregoing review of factors that could cause NRG's actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the forward-looking statements included in this news release should be considered in connection with information regarding risks and uncertainties that may affect NRG's future results included in NRG's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.

    CONTACT: NRG Energy, Inc.
             Investor Relations:
             Nahla Azmy, 609-524-4526
             or
             Katy Sullivan, 609-524-4527
             or
             Media Relations:
             Meredith Moore, 609-524-4522

    SOURCE: NRG Energy, Inc.