New President/CEO and Executive Vice President/COO Begin Tenure in Austin

Austin – The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) today named Thomas E. Noel as its new President and Chief Executive Officer, and Sam R. Jones as its Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. As the new heads of ERCOT's senior leadership team, Noel and Jones will direct ERCOT's move toward becoming Texas' first retail Independent System Operator (ISO) for the state electrical grid. An ISO is necessary to monitor and assist in the operation of the state's emerging deregulated electricity market, set to open on January 1, 2002.

"An effective, unbiased ISO is absolutely essential for a healthy and efficient competitive electricity market," said David McClanahan, President of the Reliant Energy Delivery Group and current Board Chairman of ERCOT. "Tom Noel and Sam Jones have the knowledge, experience, and discipline to make the Texas ISO the best in the nation. We are confident that every person and business in Texas will benefit from their work, and are fortunate to have these two capable professionals directing this important function."

Thomas E. Noel comes to ERCOT following a series of senior executive assignments around the country. Most recently he served as Chief Executive Officer of his own corporate strategic consulting firm. Prior to that he was President and CEO of Commodore Applied Technologies, Inc.; President and COO of Trans American Waste Industries, Inc.; and President of Ecova Corporation, a former Amoco subsidiary. A graduate of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, Mr. Noel had a distinguished career in the U. S. Army before being named Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, where he directed the development and operation of the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Sam R. Jones has served as Director, and has been responsible for the startup and operation of the ERCOT ISO, since 1996. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas. Prior to joining ERCOT, he held a series of positions with Austin Energy, including Director of Generation and System Control, Director of Transmission and Distribution, and Manager of System Operations.

As the ISO for most of the State of Texas, ERCOT is responsible for developing the control and delivery infrastructure of the Texas electrical grid to facilitate competition around the state. The ISO will ensure non-discriminatory access to the delivery system for all buyers and sellers of electricity, will serve as a clearinghouse for all electrical transactions, and will ensure that electrical production and delivery are accurately accounted for among the generators and wholesale buyers and sellers in the region.

ERCOT, one of ten regional reliability councils in North America, oversees the operation of some 60,000 megawatts of generation in the State of Texas. The primary regulatory authority for ERCOT is the Public Utility Commission of Texas. ERCOT's members include retail consumers, investor and municipally owned electric utilities, rural electric co-ops, river authorities, independent power producers, and power marketers.