Houston, Texas, January 19, 2000—El Paso Energy Corporation (NYSE:EPG) announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Bonneville Pacific Corporation (OTCBB:BPCO). The transaction was approved by Bonneville Pacific's stockholders on January 11, 2000. An initial price of $11.4389 per share, plus the contingent right to receive additional cash distributions in the future, will be paid to Bonneville Pacific Corporation's former stockholders.

With the close of the acquisition, El Paso Energy now owns a 50-percent interest in Nevada Cogeneration Associates #1 (Garnet Valley), an 85-megawatt power plant that sells power to Nevada Power Company under a long-term contract, through Bonneville Nevada Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bonneville Pacific Corporation. Bonneville Pacific Services Company, Inc., also a wholly owned subsidiary of Bonneville Pacific Corporation, provides operations and maintenance services to the Garnet Valley and Black Mountain cogeneration facilities in the Las Vegas area under a long-term contract.

With over $16 billion in assets, El Paso Energy Corporation provides comprehensive energy solutions through its strategic business units: El Paso Natural Gas Company, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, Southern Natural Gas Company, El Paso Field Services Company, El Paso Merchant Energy Company, El Paso Production Company, and El Paso Energy International Company. The company owns North America's largest natural gas pipeline system, both in terms of throughput and miles of pipeline, and has operations in natural gas transmission, gas gathering and processing, gas and oil production, power generation, merchant energy services, and international project development. On January 18, 2000, El Paso Energy announced that it has agreed to acquire The Coastal Corporation in a deal valued at $16 billion including $6 billion of assumed debt and preferred equity. Visit El Paso Energy's web site at www.epenergy.com.

This release includes forward-looking statements and projections, made in reliance on the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The company has made every reasonable effort to ensure that the information and assumptions on which these statements and projections are based are current, reasonable, and complete. However, a variety of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the projections, anticipated results or other expectations expressed in this release. While the company makes these statements and projections in good faith, neither the company nor its management can guarantee that the anticipated future results will be achieved. Reference should be made to the company's (and its affiliates') Securities and Exchange Commission filings for additional important factors that may affect actual results.