South Glens Falls, N.Y., Dec. 4, 2003 -- Reliant Energy recently completed installing new, environmentally friendly, state-of-the-art operating equipment to upgrade the company's 5-megawatt Feeder Dam hydroelectric generating plant on the Hudson River near South Glens Falls, New York.

Work included installing a 615-foot, pneumatically controlled, steel flashboard assembly atop the existing dam that will replace wooden flashboards. The new flashboard assembly includes a rubber bladder that can be inflated with air to raise the steel flashboard plates, which, in turn, help control water flow and water level fluctuation.

Installation of pneumatically controlled flashboard assemblies is also planned in 2004 at the nearby 29.8-megawatt Sherman Island hydro on the Hudson River and at the 16.4-megawatt Schaghticoke hydro on the Hoosic River.

An environmental plus is the ability to keep the water levels more consistent; thereby, reducing the potential for adverse effects on fish spawning in the water impoundment near the facility, as well as on birds and nests along the shoreline. A more stable water level also enhances recreational opportunities around the power plant and provides for enhanced production of energy due to the consistent head of water.

Total cost of the Feeder Dam project is estimated to be $1 million and is part of Reliant's planned $50 million investment in operational, maintenance and recreational improvements at and near its 71 hydro plants in New York state during the next five years.

Reliant spends $5.5 million annually to operate and maintain just the Feeder, Sherman Island, and the 56-megawatt Spier Falls plants on the Hudson River. Average capital expenditures for the three facilities alone total more than $2 million annually.

Reliant Resources, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, provides electricity and energy services to retail and wholesale customers in the U.S. and Europe, marketing those services under the Reliant Energy brand name. The company provides a complete suite of energy products and services to approximately 1.7 million electricity customers in Texas ranging from residences and small businesses to large commercial, industrial and institutional customers. Reliant also serves large commercial and industrial clients in the PJM (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland) Interconnection. The company has approximately 20,000 megawatts of power generation capacity in operation, under construction or under contract in the U.S. and nearly 3,500 megawatts of power generation in operation in Western Europe. For more information, visit our web site at www.reliantresources.com.