Cinergy Receives National Emergency Assistance Award For Hurricane Relief

CINCINNATI, January 17, 2006 — Cinergy Corp. (NYSE:CIN) has been honored by the Edison Electric Institute with the EEI Emergency Assistance Award in recognition of the help it gave Gulf Coast utilities in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita this past fall.

EEI presented the national award January 11 during its annual winter meeting held in Scottsdale, Ariz. EEI also honored five other companies during a year when hurricanes ravaged the Gulf Coast and Florida, and utilities nationwide delivered unprecedented levels of assistance to help restore power in affected states.

“Our response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita was the most extensive assistance effort in the history of Cinergy,” said John Procario, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Cinergy's regulated businesses. “Our crews were just finishing their work in Florida from Katrina’s initial landfall when we were contacted by Entergy requesting help for the New Orleans region. Their people warned of rats, snakes and alligators. They reminded us that there was no water or fuel, and they advised we bring our own, armed security crews. They could offer no assurance that our people could remain together or that they would have enough fuel to get around.”

In an unprecedented move, Cinergy chose to offer assistance on a 100-percent self-sufficient basis, taking along its own shelter, food, fuel, and security. “Entergy did not have the resources to support outside line crews”, said Procario, “so we provided our own resources. Our advance and main teams, fully equipped, learned of their final destination when they were en route. When they arrived, they found that the devastation caused by these two storms was, in some cases, near-total.”

Cinergy provided 421 line workers and several fleets of line trucks in three successive waves beginning September 2. On September 25, Entergy asked Cinergy to move its operations from the New Orleans area to Sulphur, La., where Hurricane Rita had just caused extensive damage. Cinergy crews continued working there through October 16, restoring service to 100 percent of those customers able to take power. "These companies, and the men and women who answered the call, represent the finest tradition in our industry," said EEI President Tom Kuhn. "It is a privilege to honor them with these well-deserved awards. We are deeply grateful for their service and sacrifice."

Edison Electric Institute (EEI) is the association of U.S. shareholder- owned electric companies, international affiliates and industry associates worldwide. Its U.S. members serve roughly 90 percent of the ultimate customers in the shareholder- owned segment of the industry and nearly 70 percent of all electric utility ultimate customers in the nation, and generate nearly 60 percent of the electricity produced in the United States.

Cinergy Corp. has a balanced, integrated portfolio consisting of two core businesses: regulated operations and commercial businesses. Cinergy’s regulated public utilities in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky serve 1.5 million electric customers and about 500,000 gas customers. In addition, its regulated operations own 8,100 megawatts of generation. Cinergy’s competitive commercial businesses have 5,200 megawatts of generating capacity with a profitable balance of stable existing customer portfolios, new customer origination, marketing and trading, and industrial-site cogeneration. Cinergy’s integrated businesses make it a Midwest leader in providing both low-cost generation and reliable electric and gas service.