Calpine Acquires Sacramento Basin Area Gas Pipelines.

Business Editors

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 4, 2000

Calpine Corporation (NYSE:CPN), the San Jose, Calif.-based independent power company, today announced it has acquired 100 percent of the stock of Western Gas Resources California (Western) from Western Gas Resources, Inc. for $14.9 million. Western's assets include the 130-mile Steelhead natural gas pipeline and the remaining interest in the Sacramento River Gas System (SRGS) natural gas pipeline, now 100% owned by Calpine (Western recently exercised its option to purchase these pipeline assets from Aera Energy, Inc.). With this acquisition in place, Calpine, already the largest gas producer in the Sacramento Basin, will become the largest non-utility gas-gathering and transportation system operator in the region as well.

&uot;The Steelhead and SRGS pipelines fit perfectly into our existing natural gas production, gathering and transport system,&uot; said Brad Barnds, Calpine vice president of fuels. &uot;This acquisition strengthens our leading position in the Sacramento Basin, enabling us to generate tremendous savings in meeting the gas demand of our growing portfolio of power plants.&uot;

These new pipelines double Calpine's capacity to deliver gas to its future and existing power plants in the region. Existing plants include Greenleaf 1 and 2 in Sutter County and the facility at the Dow Chemical complex in Pittsburg, Calif.

Based in San Jose, Calif., Calpine Corporation is a leading independent power company dedicated to providing customers with reliable and competitively priced electricity. Calpine currently has interests in approximately 14,000 megawatts of capacity in operation, under construction or in announced development in 18 states--enough energy to power 14 million households. Calpine has headquarters in San Jose, Calif., with regional offices in Houston, Texas; Pleasanton, Calif.; and Boston, Mass. The company was founded in 1984 and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CPN. To learn more about Calpine, visit its website at www.calpine.com.

The matters discussed in this news release may be considered &uot;forward looking&uot; statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements include declarations regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company and its management. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks and uncertainties; actual results could differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. Among the important factors that could cause results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are: (i) that the information is of a preliminary nature and may be subject to further adjustments, (ii) changes in government regulation, (iii) general operating risks, (iv) the dependence on third parties, (v) the dependence on senior management, (vi) the successful exploitation of an oil or gas resource that ultimately depends upon the geology of the resource, the total amount and cost to develop recoverable reserves, and operational factors relating to the extraction of natural gas, and (vii) other risks identified from time to time in the Company's reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.