Cleco Corp. In Talks To Sell Perryville Plant.

Business Editors

PINEVILLE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 21, 2003

Cleco Corp. (NYSE, PCX: CNL) announced today it is in discussions to sell its 725-megawatt power plant in Perryville, La.

The company said negotiations are progressing on an agreement to sell the natural gas-fired plant owned by Perryville Energy Partners LLC (PEP), a wholly owned subsidiary of Cleco, and related assets. The plant consists of a combined-cycle unit and a simple-cycle unit.

"We're pleased with the status of discussions. We still have quite a few hurdles to clear, but we're optimistic the transaction will be completed before the end of the year," Cleco President and CEO David Eppler said.

The sale is contingent upon execution of a satisfactory letter of intent as well as a definitive purchase agreement, obtaining necessary approvals from state and federal regulators, completion of a due diligence review by the purchaser, and the settlement of various project-related contracts, including but not limited to termination of a 20-year tolling agreement between PEP and an energy marketer.

"If the sale is successfully closed, we intend to use the proceeds to eliminate all debt associated with the Perryville project. In addition, we'll further strengthen our balance sheet by paying down some of our other outstanding indebtedness. The amount of debt we'll be able to pay down will depend upon the terms of the definitive agreement and the closing date of the sale. Once it's done, we will have reduced our exposure to the potential risks posed by our wholesale energy business," Eppler said.

Cleco Corporation is an energy services company headquartered in Pineville, La. It operates a regulated electric utility that serves more than 260,000 customers across Louisiana. Cleco also operates a nonregulated midstream energy business that has approximately 2,100 megawatts of generating capacity. For more information about Cleco, visit www.cleco.com.

Please note: 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 Power's and Midstream's facilities, the financial condition of the Company's tolling agreement counterparties, the performance of the tolling agreements by such counterparties, and the other risks and uncertainties more fully described in the Company's latest Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements.