EXHIBIT NO. 99


NIAGARA MOHAWK AND NEW YORK STATE ELECTRIC & GAS CORPORATION TO SELL NUCLEAR
ASSETS TO AMERGEN ENERGY

SYRACUSE and BINGHAMTON - June 24 - Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation will sell
its ownership of the Nine Mile Point 1 and 2 nuclear plants and New York State
Electric & Gas Corporation (NYSEG) will sell its ownership of the Nine Mile 2
nuclear plant, to AmerGen Energy Company, a joint venture of PECO Energy Company
and British Energy, under an agreement announced today.

Niagara Mohawk is a wholly owned subsidiary of Niagara Mohawk Holdings, Inc.
(NYSE:NMK).  NYSEG is a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy East Inc. (NYSE: NEG).

At closing, Niagara Mohawk will receive $63.55 million in proceeds based on its
41 percent ownership share of Nine Mile 2 and NYSEG will receive $27.9 million
in proceeds based on its 18 percent ownership share.  Niagara Mohawk will also
receive $71.7 million for Nine Mile 1.  Niagara Mohawk and NYSEG may receive
additional payments through a financial sharing agreement based on actual market
prices through 2012.

The sale furthers Niagara Mohawk's and NYSEG's strategies to exit the generation
business and advances AmerGen's efforts to become a premier operator of nuclear
plants in the United States.

"The sale of our nuclear assets is another step toward creating a competitive
generation market, a key component of our POWERCHOICE plan to reduce rates and
provide customer choice," said William E. Davis, Niagara Mohawk's Chief
Executive Officer.  "This sale will also protect customers and shareholders from
unforeseen operating and decommissioning costs.  In addition, the sale to
AmerGen puts the plants in the hands of a proven operator committed to pursuing
growth in the nuclear generation business.  That is good news for the plants'
employees and the region's economy."

Michael I. German, President and Chief Operating Officer of NYSEG said, "This
sale is in the best long-term interest of NYSEG's customers and the state of New
York.  It helps insulate our customers from further rate increases and brings a
world-class operator of nuclear plants into New York State."

AmerGen was formed in 1997 as a joint venture by PECO Energy of Philadelphia and
British Energy of Edinburgh, Scotland, to purchase and operate nuclear plants in
the United States.  Both companies have a strong commitment to the future of
nuclear power and share similar operational cultures involving people,
processes, safety and reliability.

"We are pleased to announce an agreement to add Nine Mile Point and its
excellent operating staff to our portfolio of AmerGen generation assets," said
Dickinson M. Smith, Chief Executive Officer of AmerGen.  "When the sale is
completed, our business goals will be to operate the units with a total
commitment to safety, to provide reliable, efficient energy for the region for
many years to come, and to continue Niagara Mohawk's tradition of being a good,
involved neighbor in the community."

Dr. Robin Jeffrey, AmerGen President and Executive Director of British Energy's
North American ventures said, "Nine Mile Point will be our largest potential
acquisition to date, and it marks real progress in our North American strategy.
We are committed to delivering shareholder value and growth, and we are
confident both units at Nine Mile Point will play a significant role as AmerGen
realizes its commercial potential in North America's electricity market."

As part of the agreement, AmerGen will offer to continue employment to the
approximately 1,330 employees at the two plants and will accept the current
collective bargaining agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers Local 97.

The agreement also calls for Niagara Mohawk and NYSEG to purchase electricity
from AmerGen at negotiated prices for three years from Nine Mile 2.  A similar
five-year agreement is in place between Niagara Mohawk and AmerGen for
electricity from Nine Mile 1.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, New
York State Public Service Commission, and other regulatory bodies must approve
the sale.  Completion of the sale is expected early next year.

AmerGen will assume full responsibility for the decommissioning of Nine Mile 1
and its eventual ownership share of Nine Mile 2.  The decommissioning fund will
be pre-funded to a fixed amount by the sellers, with all potential costs above
the fixed amount paid by AmerGen.

Nine Mile Point is a two-unit boiling water reactor site.  Nine Mile 1, a
614-megawatt unit, began producing electricity in 1969.  Nine Mile 2, a
1,140-megawatt unit, began producing electricity in 1988.  Niagara Mohawk
operates both plants.  The plants are located in Scriba, New York, approximately
40 miles north of Syracuse.

In addition to Niagara Mohawk and NYSEG, the other Nine Mile 2 co-owners are:
Long Island Power Authority (18 percent), Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation
(14 percent), and Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation (9 percent).  Their
ownership shares of the plant are not included in the sale.  Options available
to the co-owners include matching the AmerGen offer, participating in the sale,
or retaining their ownership interest.  Niagara Mohawk is the operator and sole
owner of Nine Mile 1.

Niagara Mohawk, a subsidiary of Niagara Mohawk Holdings Inc., is a regulated
energy delivery company with the largest service territory in New York State.
The company serves more than 1.5 million electricity customers and more than
540,000 natural gas customers across 24,000 square miles.

NYSEG is a subsidiary of Energy East Corporation, an energy delivery, products
and services company doing business in New York, Massachusetts, Maine and New
Hampshire.  NYSEG supplies, markets and delivers electricity to 817,000
customers and natural gas to 243,000 customers across more than 40 percent of
upstate New York.

PECO Energy is an electric and gas utility serving 1.5 million electric
customers in the five county Philadelphia area and 400,000 natural gas customers
in four suburban counties.  It is one of the nation's largest nuclear utilities,
producing more than 33.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 1998 at its
Limerick and Peach Bottom generating stations.  PECO Energy has set new nuclear
performance standards in safety, availability and capacity factors, efficient
refueling outages, and low operating and maintenance costs.

PECO Energy also owns and operates coal, natural gas, oil, landfill gas and
hydro power plants.  PECO Energy's Power Team operates a 24-hour energy trading
floor with transactions in 47 states and Canada.

British Energy provides more than 20 percent of Britain's electricity and is the
United Kingdom's largest generator.  It owns and operates 15 nuclear power
reactors in the United Kingdom, with 9,600 megawatts of generation, including
seven advanced gas-cooled nuclear stations and one pressurized water reactor
station.  In July 1996, British Energy was successfully privatized through a
public offering of stock.  The company has distinguished itself on nuclear
operations through its outstanding safety record and by reducing costs and
increasing output and profit following privatization, it has market
capitalization equivalent to $5.9 billion (U.S.) and has approximately 5,100
employees.

J. P. Morgan & Co. Inc. acted as financial advisor to the sellers.