FPL Announces Short List of Bidders for Additional Electricity Generation.

Business Editors

JUNO BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 19, 2002

Florida Power & Light Company today announced a short list of two bidders who have been selected for further consideration to provide additional electricity generating capacity to the utility beginning in 2005 and 2006.

El Paso Corporation and Florida Power Corporation were selected from 16 companies who responded to a request for proposals (RFP) issued in April by FPL as part of the company's ongoing effort to provide reliable, low-cost power to its growing customer base. FPL will consider El Paso's proposals, including power to be generated from new plants in Palm Beach and Manatee counties, as well as a power sale from Florida Power Corporation.

"We are determined to get the lowest priced and most reliable power for our customers. If we can do that by buying from one or more of the bidders to our RFP, we definitely will do that," said Paul Evanson, FPL president.

The company said it had eliminated 14 other bidders for a variety of reasons, primarily high cost and the inability to ensure performance. "While we want to select the lowest cost projects, FPL will not put our customers at risk by choosing a supplier we cannot count on to deliver the power when our customers need it," said Mr. Evanson.

FPL will hold discussions with the short list of bidders. The company also will consider its option to expand generating capacity at its existing plant sites in Martin and Manatee counties.

FPL expects to announce its selection in July. That decision ultimately will be approved or rejected by the Florida Public Service Commission to assure the chosen project or projects are the lowest cost and most reliable for FPL's customers.

Currently, independent power producers or other utilities provide under multi-year contractual agreements approximately 16 percent of the power that FPL delivers to its customers. The cost of that purchased power is passed directly on to customers and includes the suppliers' costs to build and operate their plants. FPL-owned power plants generate the remaining 84 percent of the power used to serve customers.

"We are proud of the fact that we have added nearly $13 billion in new power plant and electrical system infrastructure over the past two decades while lowering our base rates by more than $600 million a year," said Mr. Evanson. He said that the company's ability to deliver low-cost power is due in part to its industry-leading performance in power plant availability and operations.

Florida Power & Light Company is the principal subsidiary of FPL Group, Inc. (NYSE:FPL), nationally known as a high quality, efficient and customer-driven organization focused on energy-related products and services. With annual revenues of more than $8 billion and a presence in 20 states, FPL Group is widely recognized as one of the country's premier power companies. Florida Power & Light Company serves approximately 4 million customer accounts in Florida. FPL Energy, Inc., FPL Group's energy-generating subsidiary, is a leader in producing electricity from clean and renewable fuels. Additional information is available on the Internet at http://www.fpl.com, http://www.fplgroup.com and http://www.fplenergy.com.

Note to Editors: High-resolution logos and executive head shots are available for download at http://www.fpl.com/news/contents/logos.shtml