News Briefs:

Reliant Energy Plans to Form Two Public Companies

Reliant Energy said it plans to file with the Texas Public Utility
Commission a business separation plan under which it would divide into two
publicly traded companies to separate its unregulated businesses from its
regulated businesses.

The company plans an initial public offering of approximately 20% of the
common stock of its unregulated operations late this year or early in 2001,
assuming market conditions remain favorable. The company expects the IPO to
be followed by a distribution to shareholders of the remaining stock of the
unregulated company within 12 months. The remaining businesses, which are
predominately regulated, will be structured as a holding company.

The unregulated company will own Reliant Energy's unregulated power
generation and related energy trading and marketing operations, its
unregulated retail businesses, which currently include energy,
telecommunications and internet services, and the company's European
electric generating and trading/marketing operations. The plan also
contemplates that in 2004 the unregulated company will receive from the
regulated company cash equal to the market value of the regulated company's
interest in its Texas regulated generation operations. In addition, the
unregulated company will have an option to purchase the regulated company's
interest in these operations at a price equal to the market value.

The regulated company will include Reliant Energy's electricity and natural
gas companies, which serve about four million customers in the U.S. and
include Reliant Energy HL&P/Entex, Reliant Energy Arkla, Reliant Energy
Entex and Reliant Energy Minnegasco. Other operations in the entity will
include its U.S. interstate pipelines, its interests in Latin America and,
initially, its Texas regulated generation.