NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NRG Energy Reports 2003 Financial Results;
Names Robert Flexon Chief Financial Officer;
Announces Intention to Relist on NYSE

MINNEAPOLIS (March 11, 2004)—NRG Energy, Inc. (Current Ticker: NRGE) today announced financial and operating results for the fiscal year 2003, which encompasses both periods prior and subsequent to its emergence from Chapter 11 on December 5, 2003.

“Our 2003 operating results, stripped of all the bankruptcy adjustments, indicate that we are on track,” said David Crane, NRG’s new President and Chief Executive Officer. “Now we can continue our effort to position NRG to take advantage of the fact that we are the first company in our sector to address comprehensively our long-term balance sheet issues.”

     Highlights:

2003 Year-End Financial Results – A Summary

NRG’s 2003 financial results were significantly affected by the implementation of the Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization (POR) on December 5, 2003. The POR has resulted in a new capital structure, satisfaction or disposition of various types of pre-bankruptcy claims against NRG, and rejection of some unfavorable contracts. Also, during the course of NRG’s reorganization, the Company put in place a new management team and a new Board of Directors.

Upon emergence from bankruptcy, NRG adopted Fresh Start accounting, at which time NRG’s reorganization value was allocated to the assets and liabilities based on their respective fair values. An independent financial advisor estimated NRG’s reorganization equity value ranged from $2.2

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billion to $2.6 billion. NRG used a reorganized equity value of approximately $2.4 billion, as a midpoint fair valuation of the ownership distributed to the new equity owners. This value is consistent with the voting creditors and Bankruptcy Court’s approval of the POR.

The net impact of the Fresh Start accounting and other bankruptcy related adjustments to the balance sheet was a pre-reorganization income item of $3.9 billion, resulting in net income of $2.8 billion being reported for the period prior to reorganization – January 1 through December 5, 2003. This net income result is not comparable to post-emergence NRG’s actual or potential operating performance.

For the reporting period post-reorganization, December 6 through December 31, 2003, NRG reported $0.11 diluted earnings per share ($11.0 million).

(a) Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization, as adjusted; see attached Supplemental Data for reconciliation from net income.

Given the impact of Fresh Start accounting on GAAP earnings in 2003, the Company believes its adjusted EBITDA may provide a better indication of operating performance. In that regard, the Company’s full year 2003 adjusted EBITDA was $570 million. The Company’s 2003 adjusted EBITDA includes a full year loss of $183 million from the CL&P contract. In addition, NRG recorded $117 million of equity earnings in 2003 from its West Coast Power Partnership, primarily related to West Coast Power’s power sales agreement with the California Department of Water Resources (CDWR). The CDWR contract, which expires on December 31, 2004, was recorded at NRG’s partnership level as a result of Fresh Start accounting. Accordingly, there will be a substantial reduction to the Company’s 2004 earnings due to amortization of this intangible asset to expense.

Fresh Start Accounting

Due to the adoption of Fresh Start accounting as of December 5, 2003, the Company’s post-Fresh Start balance sheet, statement of operations and statement of cash flows have not been prepared on a consistent basis with the Predecessor Company’s financial statements and are not comparable in certain respects to the financial statements prior to the application of Fresh Start accounting. A black line has been drawn on the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements to separate and distinguish between Reorganized NRG and the Predecessor Company. This was done in accordance with FAS Statement of Position 90-7, “Financial Reporting by Entities in Reorganization under the Bankruptcy Code.” Given these substantial changes the Company believes it is not appropriate to combine the pre- and post-reorganization earnings results in an attempt to create a complete 2003 fiscal year result.

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A summary of the significant effects of the reorganization and Fresh Start accounting on the consolidated statement of operations for the period ended December 5, 2003, were as follows (in millions):

NRG created a disputed claims reserve as part of bankruptcy emergence, which will be used to make distributions to holders of disputed claims in our bankruptcy as and when their claims are resolved. Based on the claims processed to date, the Company continues to believe that sufficient funds have been provided to cover the expected claims.

The receivable from Xcel Energy is the result of a settlement agreement and is an important part of NRG’s POR. Under the terms of the POR, Xcel Energy is to make three payments to NRG and its creditors during the first four months of 2004. The first and second payments totaling $288 million were made in February 2004. The final payment of $352 million is scheduled to be made on April 30, 2004. Of the $640 million in aggregate, the Company is obligated to pay $515 million to the prepetition creditors. There is also a $25 million distribution to creditors as part of the POR, provided the Company meets certain liquidity requirements and that payment would be required to be made in October 2004.

The Fresh Start accounting adjustments will have a significant impact on the Reorganized NRG’s subsequent financial statements for fiscal year 2004 and beyond. As stated previously, the revaluation of West Coast Power’s CDWR contract under Fresh Start accounting will have a substantial negative net impact on 2004 earnings due to contract amortization. Thereafter, for 2005 and beyond, the net impact of Fresh Start accounting on earnings will be positive due to the impact of reduced depreciation charges against the written down property, plant, and equipment and amortization of out-of-the-money contracts.

Liquidity

NRG’s corporate liquidity, as of March 3, 2004, remains strong at almost $1.4 billion as set forth below:

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(a) Cash balances listed above reflect cash in bank and will differ from those in the financial statements. Also, $21 million in restricted capital associated with PERC facility is not included above.

As the Company has no acquisitions planned at present and very limited construction activities, and as its corporate debt maturities during 2004 amount to less than $10 million, the expected principal uses for liquidity are maintenance capital expenditures and additional credit support for marketing and hedging.

Financing Activity

NRG completed a $2.7 billion financing on December 23, 2003. The financing consisted of $1.25 billion of 8 percent second priority senior secured notes due 2013 and a $1.45 billion credit facility that included a $1.2 billion senior secured term loan facility due 2010 and an unfunded $250 million revolving credit facility. On January 28, 2004 NRG completed an additional tranche of second priority notes in the amount of $475 million and reduced the credit facility by a similar amount. Proceeds from the financings were used to pay off $1.7 billion of debt associated with several of NRG’s subsidiaries, fund a $250 million letter of credit facility, and distribute $500 million in cash to NRG’s creditors under the POR. As a result of these transactions, NRG’s corporate borrowings currently consist of 71 percent fixed rate instruments and 29 percent floating rate instruments, with a weighted average cost of debt of approximately 7.25 percent.

Operations-Focused Wholesale Power Generation Company

NRG’s operational focus during 2003 and 2004 year-to-date has been, and continues to be on availability, safety, environmental stewardship, hedging and fuel procurement, and non-strategic asset disposition.

2003 Operational Performance for North America Power Generation Facilities

(a) The portfolio consists of 26 percent coal-fired generation, 48 percent natural gas-fired, and 26 percent oil-fired generation.

(b) In-Market Availability is a measure of how successfully a generating plant captured the revenue earning opportunities in their market over a period of time.

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Hedging and Fuel Procurement Highlights

The Company has taken advantage of the current high gas price environment and its post-emergence liquidity to hedge forward a material position of its northeastern coal-fired generation for 2004. NRG has hedged over 90 percent of its estimated coal needs for the remainder of 2004.

In New York and NEPOOL, NRG has contracted sales for 500 MW of baseload coal generation for the remainder of 2004. The Company also sold 700 MW (maximum) of load following contracts as a part of the New Jersey BGS auction and the Maryland Standard Offer Service RFP.

Asset Dispositions

The Company made substantial progress in 2003 in divesting noncore assets. During 2003, NRG sold or transferred its ownership interests in the following assets: ECKG (Czech Republic); Killingholme (UK); Langage (UK); Kondapalli (India); Cahua/Energia Pacasmayo (Peru); Brazos Valley (TX); Mustang (TX); Timber Energy (FL); various NEO landfill gas projects; and certain turbine equipment. As the result of these asset dispositions the Company received approximately $196 million in cash proceeds and eliminated approximately $628 million in consolidated debt. The Company’s efforts to rationalize its portfolio at fair value continue.

Business Update

With respect to NRG’s operating performance in 2004 year-to-date, the Company has benefited from the cold weather spike in January and the gas price volatility in the Northeast. The balance of the Company’s generating portfolio has performed largely in line with expectations.

On December 31, 2003, the Company’s unfavorable standard offer service contract with Connecticut Light & Power terminated. The Independent System Operator – New England (ISO-NE) has classified NRG’s Connecticut plants as required to maintain the reliability of the grid system in Connecticut. As such, the Company has filed at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for a proposed reliability-must-run agreement for Devon units 11-14, Middletown Station, and Montville Station that would fairly compensate it for maintaining its plants in Connecticut. In addition, NRG is supporting FERC’s efforts to implement a locational capacity market in the ISO-NE market.

CFO Appointed

NRG has appointed Robert Flexon to be Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer effective March 29, 2004. Mr. Flexon comes to NRG after four years with Hercules, Inc., a specialty chemicals company, where he served as Vice President, Corporate Development & Work Process and prior to that, Vice President, Business Analysis & Controller. Mr. Flexon also held various financial management positions, including General Auditor, during his 13 years with Atlantic Richfield Company and began his career with the former Coopers & Lybrand public accounting firm.

“Bob’s experience in successfully facing the challenges of the chemical industry, his technical expertise in accounting, his strong work ethic and integrity, make him the perfect fit for the CFO position at NRG,” said David Crane.

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NYSE listing

NRG has been cleared to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange and, assuming it finalizes all the listing requirements, will begin trading on March 25, 2004 under the symbol NRG. The Company considers a listing on the NYSE to be an important step in its plan to rebuild investor recognition of NRG and enhance value and convenience for its shareholders.

Earnings Conference Call

On March 11, 2003, NRG will host a conference call at 9 a.m. Eastern (8 a.m. Central) to discuss these results and the outlook for 2004. To participate in the call, dial 800.374.0057 and follow the operator’s instructions. International callers should dial 706.634.1512. The Conference Code for both numbers is 5781937. To access the live webcast and accompanying slide presentation, log on to NRG’s website at http://www.nrgenergy.com and click on “Investors.” Participants should dial in or log on approximately 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

The call will be available for replay shortly after completion of the live event. The replay will be available until 11:00 p.m. Central Time on March 18. Dial 800.642.1687 to access the replay. International callers should dial 706.645.9291. The Conference ID is 5781937. In addition, the call will be archived on the “Investors” section of the NRG website.

Future Events

The Company intends to report its first quarter 2004 unaudited financial results on May 11. NRG’s Annual Shareholder Meeting will be held on June 8, 2004.

About NRG

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.

Safe Harbor Disclosure

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 include, but are not limited to, expected earnings, future growth and financial performance, and typically can be identified by the use of words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “forecast,” “plan,” “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. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated above include, among others, general economic conditions, hazards customary in the power industry, competition in wholesale power markets, 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 access capital markets, our substantial indebtedness and the possibility that we may incur additional indebtedness, adverse results in current and future litigation, and the amount of proceeds from asset sales.

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

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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.

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     More information on NRG is available at www.nrgenergy.com

Contacts:

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NRG ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(unaudited)

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NRG ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(unaudited)

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NRG ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS — (Continued)

(unaudited)

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NRG ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(unaudited)

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NRG ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

EBITDA RECONCILIATION

     The following table summarizes the calculation of EBITDA and provides a reconciliation to net income for the periods indicated:

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