Reliant Energy (NYSE: RRI) Contract with DOE Finalized

Reliant Energy Contract with DOE Finalized

Reliant Energy (NYSE: RRI), has finalized its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for approximately $20 million in funding to develop and deliver innovative energy solutions for Texas electricity customers. Reliant is the only competitive electricity provider in Texas to have been selected to receive a grant through American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

"We are grateful the DOE recognizes the value of our smart-energy suite of products, which will give our Texas customers the tools to better understand and monitor their electricity usage,'' said David Crane, NRG Energy, Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer. "This is an early step in using smart grid technology to link our zero emission power generation to the electric vehicle infrastructure in Texas as the foundation for a clean energy future that is not dependent on foreign oil."

"Reliant is committed to revolutionizing the way people interact with energy through technology by continually pushing to develop and deliver innovative energy solutions to improve the lives of our customers," said Jason Few, President, Reliant Energy. "This grant will help us get those services into the hands of more customers between now and 2013."

Reliant customers are already benefiting from the company's smart energy products and services. Customers with smart meters can now receive a free Weekly Summary e-mail that provides an overview of weekly and daily usage, an estimated monthly bill amount and a comparison to the previous week's electricity use.

The company also has a Time-of-Use plan for customers with smart meters. Under this plan, the price of electricity changes during the day based on overall demand for electricity, allowing customers to benefit from making choices about when and how to use electricity. By shifting high-usage activities -- like doing laundry or running the dishwasher -- to lower-priced times, customers may be able to reduce their overall cost.

Other planned products and services include a web portal that tracks electricity usage as well as costs and can be accessed remotely to monitor energy use while away from home; home energy monitors that communicate with the smart meter to display near real-time information including current electricity use, estimated bill, energy-saving tips and alerts when the bill reaches a certain point; and smart appliances.

About Reliant Energy:

Reliant Energy provides electricity and energy services to approximately 1.6 million retail customers--including homes, small and large businesses, manufacturing facilities, government entities and institutions across Texas. As part of NRG Energy /quotes/comstock/13*!nrg/quotes/nls/nrg (NRG 20.90, -0.19, -0.90%) , Reliant Energy is backed by one of the nation's largest power producers. NRG owns and operates more than 24,000 megawatts of generation capacity, including more than 11,000 megawatts of capacity in Texas. For more information about Reliant Energy products and services, visit www.reliant.com.

Safe Harbor Disclosure

This news release contains forward-looking statements of Reliant Energy, an NRG Energy, Inc. company, 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 expectations regarding the development of smart energy products, and typically can be identified by the use of words such as "will," "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, the volatility of energy and fuel prices, failure of customers to perform under contracts, changes in government regulation of markets and of environmental emissions, the condition of capital markets generally, and our ability to access capital markets.

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.

SOURCE: Reliant Energy