Progress Energy selects Harris site for N. Carolina nuclear plant eval.

Harris Nuclear Plant site near New Hill, N.C., selected for possible expansion

RALEIGH, N.C. (January 23, 2006) -- Progress Energy (NYSE: PGN) announced today that its Progress Energy Carolinas subsidiary has selected its Harris Nuclear Plant site near New Hill, N.C. (located approximately 20 miles southwest of Raleigh in western Wake County), to evaluate for possible future nuclear generation expansion.

The company also announced it has selected Westinghouse Electric Company to supply the reactors for the potential future expansion of Progress Energy's nuclear generation in the Carolinas. These announcements are important next steps in the process as the company continues to evaluate options to meet the demands of its rapidly growing customer base.

"Since Progress Energy last added baseload generation in the mid-1980s in North Carolina, we have grown by about 500,000 total customers. In North Carolina and South Carolina, we have added about 29,000 new customers just in the last year -- that's more than 550 new customers every week...

...The Harris Plant site was originally planned for four nuclear reactors, but due to changing economic conditions in the 1970s and 1980s, only one reactor was built. The Harris site offers a large amount of available land -- approximately 35 square miles -- and has an ample water supply. Water is one of the most important factors in determining the suitability for a plant. The Cape Fear River and Harris Lake provide a reliable and sustainable water supply.

The Harris site also has transmission capacity that can accommodate the additional electricity generated. This capability reduces the need to build more transmission lines for a single new unit and would ultimately reduce the overall project costs.