Calpine Completes Acquisition of 80% Interest in Cogeneration Corporation of America.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 17, 1999--

Calpine Corporation (NYSE:CPN), the nation's fastest growing independent power company, today announced it has completed the acquisition of 80 percent of the common stock of Cogeneration Corporation of America (CGCA) (NASDAQ:CGCA) for approximately $146 million. The CGCA acquisition increases Calpine's natural gas-fired power production by 20 percent to 2,476 net megawatts of capacity.

"Clean, efficient natural gas-fired power generating facilities will be the work horses for the electric industry in the 21st century," said Calpine Vice President John King. "This acquisition significantly increases Calpine's natural gas-fired portfolio and extends our reach into three new markets as we continue to acquire and develop competitive energy centers across the nation."

As a result of the acquisition, Calpine has gained an ownership interest in six natural gas-fired facilities--totaling approximately 580 megawatts of capacity--and has assumed operations of four of the plants. NRG Energy, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Northern States Power (NYSE:NSP), will retain the remaining 20 percent interest in CGCA.

Calpine has added 400 net megawatts of competitively priced energy to its power portfolio and has entered three attractive power markets. In the eastern Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland market, in which Calpine is developing a 545-megawatt natural gas-fired facility, Calpine has secured interests in four gas-fired facilities. The Morris, Ill. facility provides Calpine with an entree into the Mid-Atlantic Interconnect Network, where the company now has a 50-megawatt block of power to sell into the robust Midwestern wholesale market. Calpine's third new market is the Southwest Power Pool, where it can now sell 100 megawatts of non-firm energy from its Pryor, Okla. plant into the market several years in advance of any new generation entering the region. The CGCA facilities include: -0-

--   Grays Ferry - Located in Philadelphia, Penn.; a 150-megawatt
     natural gas-fired cogenerator; Calpine owns a 40 percent
     interest.

--   Parlin - Located in Parlin, N.J.; a 122-megawatt natural
     gas-fired cogenerator; 80 percent owned and operated by Calpine.

--   Morris - Located in Morris, Ill.; a 117-megawatt natural
     gas-fired cogenerator; 80 percent owned and operated by Calpine.

--   Pryor - Located in Pryor, Okla.; a 110-megawatt gas-fired
     cogenerator; 80 percent owned and operated by Calpine.

--   Newark - Located in Newark, N.J.; a 58-megawatt natural gas-fired
     cogenerator; 80 percent owned and operated by Calpine.

--   Philadelphia - Located in Philadelphia, Penn.; a 22-megawatt
     natural gas-fired facility; Calpine owns a 66.4 percent interest.

     Calpine Corporation is leading independent power company
dedicated to providing customers with reliable and competitively
priced electricity and thermal energy. Calpine currently has
approximately 10,800 megawatts of capacity in operation, under
construction or in announced development in 15 states -- enough energy
to power eleven million households. Calpine has headquarters in San
Jose, Calif., with regional offices in Pleasanton, Calif.; Houston,
Texas; 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.