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NRG Energy Employees Devote 3,500 Hours of Volunteer Service on Annual Community Day

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^{Published in Business and Finance on Wednesday, May 26th 2010 at 6:08 GMT by Market Wire}  

PRINCETON, N.J.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Today more than 700 employees from NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) are getting out of the office and partnering with various charitable organizations in their communities across the country. Started in 2008, NRGa�s Global Giving Community Day has grown from a local headquarters activity to a Companywide effort, with employees participating in various projects for more than 35 charitable organizations across the country.

"At NRG, we are proud to provide reliable and affordable electricity, but wea�re especially proud of our employee-driven initiative to build better communities where we live and work"

aAt NRG, we are proud to provide reliable and affordable electricity, but wea�re especially proud of our employee-driven initiative to build better communities where we live and work,a said David Crane, President and CEO, NRG Energy. aThe work we do today will make a tangible difference in our schools, libraries and neighborhoods, and assist many local organizations that help those in our communities who need assistance.a

Global Giving Community Day is just one of the many employee-led efforts sponsored by NRGa�s Global Giving initiative. Over the past few years, NRG has donated millions in financial grants to non-profit organizations that address vital community needs through targeted and sustainable service programs consistent with the Companya�s four focus areas: community and economic development, education, environment and human welfare.

NRGa�s Global Giving Community Day encompasses diverse charitable organizations and many activities to help build stronger, healthier communities. Some examples of todaya�s employee outreach include:

In central New Jersey, home of NRGa�s headquarters, nearly 200 employees are providing volunteer assistance including:

• Office work for Autism Speaks and Young Audiences
• Refurbishing computers and stocking food pantry shelves at HomeFront
• Performing inventory and organizing the local Dress for Success
• Sorting food and loading trucks at Mercer Street Friends Food Bank
• Cleaning up for summer at the YWCA/YMCA Princeton and Big Brothers Big Sisters Mercer County
• Sorting and compiling amenities bags to support homeless for United Way

In New York, where NRG has generating facilities in New York City as well as in the western part of the State, volunteers are:

• Collecting food for St. Vincent De Paul-St. Margareta�s food bank in Astoria
• Working in the Friends of the Night soup kitchen in Tonawanda
• Cooking and serving dinner at the Rural Ministries Soup Kitchen in Dunkirk
• Sorting clothes at the Rescue Mission-Best Kept Secret in Oswego
• Painting and landscaping at the Oswego YMCA
• Fundraising for the American Red Cross in Oswego
• Painting at Oswego County Opportunities Youth & Family Services

In Texas, where NRG is the second largest power generator and owner of electricity retailer Reliant Energy, more than 400 employees are spending the day:

• Planting 1,000 trees for Trees For Houston
• Restoring wetlands with cord grass grown at NRGa�s ecocenter for the Galveston Bay Foundation
• Hosting a picnic for Fort Bend Seniors homebound seniors in southwest Houston
• Staffing five Houston Food Bank locations
• Gardening for the Target Hunger fresh food program in Houston
• Removing non-native invasive plants at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin
• Cleaning up beach as part of Padre Island National Seashore Clean-Up
• Repairing low-income homes for Rebuilding Together in Dallas and renovating a house in Leon County used by victims of domestic violence
• Helping refurbish and renovate homes for elderly and disabled veterans in Freestone and Limestone Counties.

Other sample projects taking place today around the country include:

• In California, employees are performing maintenance projects at the Boys & Girls Club of Carlsbad; restoring the El Segundo Blue Butterfly Habitat; and preparing meals for the St. Anthony Foundation in San Francisco
• In Connecticut, employees are labeling storm drains in the city of Norwalk will prevent water from being polluted
• In Louisiana, employees are volunteering at the local elementary school in New Roads and are building bookshelves for three branches of the Pointe Coupee Parish Library system
• In Pennsylvania, staff members are cleaning up four vacant lots for the Weed and Seed Program in Harrisburg

About NRG

NRG Energy, Inc., a Fortune 300 and S&P 500 Index company, owns and operates one of the countrya�s largest and most diverse power generation portfolios. Headquartered in Princeton, NJ, the Companya�s power plants provide more than 24,000 megawatts of generation capacitya"enough to supply more than 20 million homes. NRGa�s retail business, Reliant Energy, serves 1.6 million residential, business, commercial and industrial customers in Texas. A past recipient of the energy industrya�s highest honorsa"Platts Industry Leadership and Energy Company of the Year awards, NRG is a member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), a group of business and environmental organizations calling for mandatory legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. More information is available at [ www.nrgenergy.com ].