Exhibit 99.1

FROM: Sierra Pacific Resources                         TO: PR Newswire
      Analyst Contact:                                     US1
      Vicki Erickson   775-834-5646                        1-800-473-5152
      Media Contact:
      Andrea Smith 702-334-5683

                     ENRON BANKRUPTCY COURT ISSUES DECISION

August 28, 2003

Las Vegas, Nev. -- Sierra Pacific Resources (NYSE:SRP) today said the Bankruptcy
Court for the Southern District of New York has rendered a decision in Enron's
bankruptcy proceedings granting Enron Power Marketing Inc.'s motion for summary
judgment with respect to Enron's claims for terminated contracts.

Walt Higgins, chairman and CEO of Sierra Pacific Resources, said, "We are
currently studying the decision and will consider all possible courses of action
once an order is issued.

"We are disappointed with this decision but, as I've said on many occasions
during Enron's bankruptcy proceedings, we will aggressively pursue our rights
throughout the court system. We do not believe those who were largely
responsible for the 2000-2001 western energy crisis should benefit in any way
from the dysfunctional marketplace they helped create."

Headquartered in Nevada, Sierra Pacific Resources is a holding company whose
principal subsidiaries are Nevada Power Company, the electric utility for most
of southern Nevada, and Sierra Pacific Power Company, the electric utility for
most of northern Nevada and the Lake Tahoe area of California. Sierra Pacific
Power Company also distributes natural gas in the Reno-Sparks area of northern
Nevada. Other subsidiaries include the Tuscarora Gas Pipeline Company, which
owns a 50% interest in an interstate natural gas transmission partnership.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release contains forward-looking
statements regarding the future performance of Sierra Pacific Resources and its
subsidiaries, Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company, within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from current expectations. For Sierra
Pacific Resources, these risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited
to, Resources' ability to access the capital markets to refinance future debt
maturities and for general corporate purposes, Resources' ability to receive
dividends from its subsidiaries and the financial performance of the Company's
subsidiaries, particularly Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power
Company. For Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company, these risks
and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, unfavorable rulings in their
future rate cases, their ability to access the capital markets to refinance debt
and for general corporate purposes, their ability to purchase sufficient power
to meet their power demands, whether






terminated power suppliers will be successful in pursuing claims against Nevada
Power and Sierra Pacific Power for liquidated damages under their terminated
power contracts and weather conditions during the summer months of 2003 and
beyond. Additional cautionary statements regarding other risk factors that could
have an effect on the future performance of Sierra Pacific Resources, Nevada
Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company are contained in their Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2003, filed with the SEC. The
Companies undertake no obligation to release publicly the result of any
revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events
or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events.