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Cleco's Rodemacher Project Generating Power

^{Published on 2009-12-28 04:45:56 - Market Wire}
 

PINEVILLE, LA--(Marketwire - December 28, 2009) - Cleco Power LLC, a subsidiary of Cleco Corp. (NYSE: [ CNL ]), today announced that its Rodemacher 3 (RPS3) project remains on budget and each of its two 300-megawatt boilers have produced enough steam for the unit to reach an output level of 160 megawatts and successfully deliver power to the grid. The unit now has an anticipated commercial operation date of early 2010.

"We've made great strides in completing the cornerstone project of our fuel-diversity strategy," said Dilek Samil, president and COO of Cleco Power LLC. "Now, the work is focused on stabilizing operation and increasing the use of pet coke to the maximum capacity in the boilers."

Cleco Power began construction of RPS3 in April 2006 and plans to use petroleum coke or pet coke, a byproduct of the oil refining industry, to initially fuel the solid fuel generating unit located north of Alexandria. Louisiana refineries have supplied the nearly 400,000 tons of pet coke that to date have been delivered to and stored at the site.

The construction and startup contractor will remain in control of the unit until it meets certain performance guarantees, which are required for the unit to be considered commercially operational. Cleco Power has received approval from state regulators to begin recovery of the costs for the project upon commercial operation.

Cleco Corp. is a regional energy company headquartered in Pineville, La. It operates a regulated electric utility company that serves about 276,000 customers across Louisiana. Cleco also operates a wholesale energy business with approximately 1,350 megawatts of nameplate generating capacity. For more information about Cleco, visit [ www.cleco.com ].

This news release contains forward-looking statements. Actual events and results may differ materially from those projected. There are many risks and uncertainties with respect to such forward-looking statements, including the risks and uncertainties more fully described in Cleco's latest Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.