Kern River Pipeline Reports Successful Open Season

Kern River Gas Transmission Company today announced it completed a successful binding open season to expand its system. John Dushinske, Kern River vice president of marketing and regulatory affairs, made the announcement at the Wyoming Natural Gas Fair in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Based on the open season results, Kern River will expand its system to provide 266,000 dekatherms per day of new transportation service from Wyoming to southern Nevada and to provide 400,000 Dth/d of new firm backhaul transportation service to delivery points in southern Nevada. Nevada Power Company, a subsidiary of Sierra Pacific Resources, was the successful bidder for the capacity.

“We are very pleased to have Nevada Power’s support for this expansion project,” Dushinske said. “Kern River is committed to serving the growing demand for natural gas in the West, and expanding Kern River’s capacity will bring additional competitively priced natural gas into southern Nevada. Kern River is planning for additional expansions, and we fully expect to be the pipeline of choice as consumer demand and production continue to grow across our system.”

The 266,000 Dth/d of capacity, known as the Apex Expansion Project, has a projected in-service date of Nov. 1, 2011. The expected in-service date for the backhaul capacity is April 1, 2009.

The proposed Apex Expansion Project will be subject to approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other agencies.

Kern River Gas Transmission Company owns and operates a 1,680-mile interstate natural gas pipeline between southwestern Wyoming and Southern California. With headquarters in Salt Lake City, Kern River currently delivers more than 1.7 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas to expanding markets in Utah, Nevada and California. Kern River is a subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company. Company information is available at www.kernrivergas.com.

MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, based in Des Moines, Iowa, is a global provider of energy services. Through its energy-related business platforms MidAmerican provides electric and natural gas service to more than 6.9 million customers worldwide. These business platforms are Pacific Power, Rocky Mountain Power and PacifiCorp Energy, which comprise PacifiCorp; MidAmerican Energy Company; CE Electric UK; Northern Natural Gas; Kern River Gas Transmission Company; and CalEnergy. Information about MidAmerican is available at www.midamerican.com.

Headquartered in Nevada, Sierra Pacific Resources is a holding company whose principal subsidiaries are Nevada Power Company, the electric utility for most of southern Nevada, and Sierra Pacific Power Company, the electric utility for most of northern Nevada and the Lake Tahoe area of California. Sierra Pacific Power Company also distributes natural gas in the Reno-Sparks area of northern Nevada.