Cleco's Perryville Plant Starts Operations in Time To Meet Summer Demand.

Business Editors

Cleco Corp. (NYSE, PCX: CNL) today announced its 725-megawatt Perryville Power Station, in northeast Louisiana, has begun commercial operations and is producing electricity in time to meet peak summertime power needs.

Perryville's 568-megawatt combined-cycle unit officially went on-line July 1. The plant's 157-megawatt peaking unit has been operational since summer 2001.

Cleco recently completed the purchase of Mirant's 50 percent interest in the natural gas-fired plant located about 12 miles north of Monroe, La. The project was a joint venture between subsidiaries of the two firms when construction began on the peaking unit in August 2000. Work on the combined-cycle unit began in December 2000.

"We set an aggressive construction schedule so the combined-cycle unit could be up and running by this summer," said Darrell Dubroc, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Cleco Midstream Resources LLC, Cleco's wholesale energy subsidiary.

"Not only did we meet the aggressive schedule, we constructed the project within its $336 million budget," Dubroc said.

Although Mirant sold its interest in the physical plant, its marketing and risk management organization, Mirant Americas Energy Marketing, still owns the power produced by the project under a 20-year power sales agreement.

Dubroc added, "When the Acadia project near Eunice starts commercial operations later this month, Cleco will have brought three highly efficient, state-of-the-art power plants on-line in Louisiana within the last two years to help meet the power needs of the state and region."

About Cleco Corporation

Cleco Corp. is a regional energy services company headquartered in Pineville, La. It operates a nonregulated midstream energy business that has approximately 2,100 megawatts of unregulated generating capacity either in operation or under construction. Cleco also operates a regulated electric utility company that serves more than 250,000 customers across Louisiana. For more information, visit www.cleco.com.

In addition to historical financial information, this news release contains forward-looking statements about future results and circumstances with respect to which there are many risks and uncertainties, including the weather and other natural phenomena, state and federal legislative and regulatory initiatives, the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices and interest rates, the operating performance of Cleco's facilities, and other risks and uncertainties more fully described in the company's latest Annual Reports on Form 10-K. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements. Cleco and expressly disclaim any obligation to update any information presented in this release.