SOUTHPORT, N.C. (April 7, 2003) -- Employees of Progress Energy's Brunswick Nuclear Plant completed a scheduled refueling outage Sunday, April 6 when Unit 2 was returned to service generating electricity for the company's customers.

While the unit was off line, an outage workforce of approximately 2,000 personnel completed about 8,000 planned work activities. Plant employees replaced approximately 43 percent of the unit's fuel, completed many maintenance activities that cannot be performed while the plant is operating, and implemented the first of two phases of an "extended power uprate" project that increases significantly the generation of the unit.

"The successful completion of this outage positions us to operate safely and reliably until the unit's next refueling outage in 2005," said Brunswick Plant Vice President Jack Keenan. "The Brunswick outage team, made up of employees from a half dozen Progress Energy locations as well as an expert contract workforce, performed exceptionally well to safely and effectively complete the refueling outage."

The refueling outage was particularly significant for Brunswick since several major pieces of equipment -- the high-pressure turbine, a high-pressure feedwater heater, both reactor feedwater pump turbines and controls, and power range instrumentation -- were replaced to support Unit 2's extended power uprate project. These upgrades, as well as improvements in fuel design, will allow the unit to generate at least 50 additional megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 35,000 average size homes. Similar upgrades to Brunswick Unit 1 were made last year and resulted in approximately 52 additional megawatts.

The multi-year effort to enhance the efficiency and output of the Brunswick Plant will increase the plant's generation capacity by approximately 15 percent by the summer of 2005. "With demand for electricity expected to grow by at least 10 percent over the same time period, the increased output of electricity from the Brunswick Plant will help ensure a reliable supply of energy to the region," said Keenan. "And with Progress Energy in the process of renewing Brunswick's operating license for an additional 20 years through 2034, these equipment upgrades also mean that the safest and most efficient equipment available in the industry is in place for the long-term."

"The refueling outage, the unit's 16th, followed an outstanding two-year fuel cycle during which the unit operated continuously except for a mid-cycle maintenance outage when it was taken out of service for approximately one week," said Keenan. "While we are very proud of these accomplishments, we plan to continue improving in every aspect of our business so that well-planned and implemented refueling outages are regularly followed by 'breaker-to-breaker,' two-year operating runs."

Since nuclear power is Progress Energy's most cost-effective source of electric generation, short outages and long operating runs between outages help keep Progress Energy customers' electric rates stable. During plant outages, other Progress Energy electricity generating facilities provide electricity to the company's customers. Progress Energy's four nuclear power plants -- the Brunswick Plant's two units located near Southport, N.C., the Harris Plant located just outside of Raleigh, N.C., the Robinson Plant located near Hartsville, S.C., and the Crystal River Plant located close to Crystal River, FL -- produced 36 percent of the company's electricity during 2002.

Progress Energy [NYSE: PGN], headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., is a Fortune 250 diversified energy company with more than 21,900 megawatts of generation capacity and $8 billion in annual revenues. The company's holdings include two electric utilities serving 2.8 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. Progress Energy also includes nonregulated operations covering competitive generation, energy marketing, natural gas exploration, fuel extraction, rail services and broadband capacity. For more information about Progress Energy, visit the company's Web site at http://www.progress-energy.com.

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Contact: Mike McCracken -- Telephone (910) 457-3113;
Email -- mike.mccracken@pgnmail.com