NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) today reported third quarter 2020 income from continuing operations of $249 million, or $1.02 per diluted common share and Adjusted EBITDA for the Third quarter of $752 million.

'Our business performed well during the important summer months, delivering stable results amid the COVID-19 pandemic,' said Mauricio Gutierrez, NRG President and Chief Executive Officer. 'As we move towards the end of the year, we look forward to closing the Direct Energy acquisition and continue advancing our customer-centric strategy.'

Texas: Third quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $514 million, $67 million lower than third quarter of 2019. This decrease is driven by a reduction of load due to weather and COVID-19 partially offset by lower supply costs resulting from reductions in power and fuel prices.

East: Third quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $146 million, $3 million higher than third quarter of 2019. This increase is driven by higher gross margins and increased sales of portable power products; partially offset by lower capacity revenues and higher operating expenses.

West/Other: Third quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $92 million, $24 million higher than third quarter of 2019. This increase is driven by higher gross margin primarily due to MISO uplift payments resulting from out-of-market dispatch during an extreme weather event and increased California resource adequacy pricing, partially offset by lower realized pricing in the West, lower generation from forced outages at Cottonwood facility in 2020 and the sales of emissions in 2019.

About NRG

At NRG, we're bringing the power of energy to people and organizations by putting customers at the center of everything we do. We generate electricity and provide energy solutions and natural gas to more than 3.7 million residential, small business, and commercial and industrial customers through our diverse portfolio of retail brands. A Fortune 500 company, operating in the United States and Canada, NRG delivers innovative solutions while advocating for competitive energy markets and customer choice, and by working towards a sustainable energy future.

Forward-Looking Statements

In addition to historical information, the information presented in this press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These statements involve estimates, expectations, projections, goals, assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties and can typically be identified by terminology such as 'may,' 'should,' 'could,' 'objective,' 'projection,' 'forecast,' 'goal,' 'guidance,' 'outlook,' 'expect,' 'intend,' 'seek,' 'plan,' 'think,' 'anticipate,' 'estimate,' 'predict,' 'target,' 'potential' or 'continue' or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the Company's future revenues, income, indebtedness, capital structure, plans, expectations, objectives, projected financial performance and/or business results and other future events, and views of economic and market conditions.

Although NRG believes that its expectations are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to be correct, and actual results may vary materially. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated herein include, among others, the potential impact of COVID-19 or any other pandemic on the Company's operations, financial position, risk exposure and liquidity, general economic conditions, hazards customary in the power industry, weather conditions, competition in wholesale power markets, the volatility of energy and fuel prices, failure of customers to perform under contracts, changes in the wholesale power markets, changes in government regulations, the condition of capital markets generally, our ability to access capital markets, cyberterrorism and inadequate cybersecurity, unanticipated outages at our generation facilities, adverse results in current and future litigation, failure to identify, execute or successfully implement acquisitions, repowerings or asset sales, our ability to implement value enhancing improvements to plant operations and companywide processes, our ability to achieve margin enhancement under our publicly announced transformation plan, our ability to achieve our net debt targets, our ability to maintain investment grade credit metrics, our ability to proceed with projects under development or the inability to complete the construction of such projects on schedule or within budget, the inability to maintain or create successful partnering relationships, our ability to operate our business efficiently, our ability to retain retail customers, our ability to realize value through our commercial operations strategy, the ability to consummate the Direct Energy acquisition, the ability to successfully integrate businesses of acquired companies including Direct Energy, our ability to realize anticipated benefits of transactions (including expected cost savings and other synergies) or the risk that anticipated benefits may take longer to realize than expected, and our ability to execute our Capital Allocation Plan. Achieving investment grade credit metrics is not a indication of or guarantee that the Company will receive investment grade credit ratings. Debt and share repurchases may be made from time to time subject to market conditions and other factors, including as permitted by United States securities laws. Furthermore, any common stock dividend is subject to available capital and market conditions.

NRG undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. The adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow guidance and excess cash guidance are estimates as of November 5, 2020. These estimates are based on assumptions the company believed to be reasonable as of that date. NRG disclaims any current intention to update such guidance, except as required by law. The foregoing review of factors that could cause NRG's actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the forward-looking statements included in this press release should be considered in connection with information regarding risks and uncertainties that may affect NRG's future results included in NRG's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.

Contact:

Candice Adams

Tel: 609.524.5428

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