FPL Group, Inc. Chairman and CEO James L. Broadhead today voiced strong optimism for the future growth and performance of the energy-related services company.

"I am disappointed that we were unable to complete the merger with Entergy Corporation. Yet, I am even more convinced today that FPL Group will be a formidable competitor in the energy business and will generate solid value for our shareholders and customers as a stand-alone company," said Mr. Broadhead.

"FPL Group has come to stand for high integrity and superior operating and financial performance," Mr. Broadhead said. "We expect to build upon more than a decade of consistently delivering shareholder value and achieving customer satisfaction."

The FPL Group CEO said he expects the company to achieve a seven-percent increase in earnings per share in 2001, excluding merger-related expenses. He also indicated that the company expects earnings per share to increase an average of 7 percent over the next several years.

"Our principal subsidiary, Florida Power & Light Company, is a premier utility serving approximately 3.9 million customer accounts in a vibrant region that expects to add 700,000 new customer accounts over the decade," said Mr. Broadhead. FPL continues to lower its operating costs while improving customer service and enhancing reliability.

"FPL is one of the very best power plant operators in the world," said Mr. Broadhead. He noted that the utility's operational expertise is transferred to the corporation's independent power producing subsidiary FPL Energy, thereby enhancing operational performance and project development efforts. "FPL Energy grew its portfolio by 37 percent in 2000 to more than 4,100 megawatts. It has announced projects which will add more than 2,700 megawatts by 2003," said Mr. Broadhead. Over the next few weeks, the company expects to announce new projects that will add more than 2,500 megawatts to its portfolio.

"FPL Energy has greatly enhanced its project development and energy marketing and trading skills over the last year," said Mr. Broadhead. He added that FPL Group has 66 General Electric gas-fired turbines under contract for delivery through 2004. Approximately two-thirds of the turbines will be used for FPL Energy projects.

"With a solid pipeline of potential projects, as well as possible asset acquisitions, we expect FPL Energy's healthy growth will continue," said Mr. Broadhead. He said the size of the project pipeline -- with projects in varying levels of maturity -- exceeds 10,000 megawatts.

FPL Group's CEO also said he expects the company's fiber-optic services and cable business, FPL FiberNet, will continue to grow its business operations in Florida and modestly contribute to earnings again in 2001. "While this is a niche business for FPL Group, it is certainly a profitable one that has a good growth profile," he said.

  Following are highlights of FPL Group businesses:

  Florida Power & Light
   * Customer growth and usage per customer is expected to average
     3 to 4 percent per year over the decade.

   * FPL continues to lower its operations and maintenance costs, which are
     now 1.09 cents per kilowatt-hour, down 40 percent from 1990.

   * FPL expects to add approximately 7,000 megawatts of generating capacity
     to its system over the next ten years as reported in its 10-year site
     plan filed today with the Florida Public Service Commission.

   * FPL power plants are among the tops in the nation with fossil plant
     availability at 95 percent and nuclear plant availability at 93 percent
     in 2000.

   * FPL's electric reliability is rated within the top 20 percent of the
     industry.

  FPL Energy
   * FPL Energy has announced or will soon announce projects that will add
     more than 5,200 megawatts of clean energy generation to its portfolio
     over the next three years:
       - 2001:  More than 1,000 megawatts of wind energy projects
       - 2002:  Approximately 800 megawatts of gas-fired generation
       - 2003:  More than 3,400 megawatts of gas-fired generation

   * FPL Energy has a project development pipeline of more than
     10,000 megawatts beyond what has been announced.

  FPL FiberNet
   * FPL FiberNet owns approximately 2,000 miles of fiber network,
     representing approximately 122,000 fiber miles.

   * Intra-city networks have been completed in Miami, Fort Lauderdale,
     Orlando and Tampa, and construction is underway in Boca Raton,
     West Palm Beach, St. Petersburg and Jacksonville.

FPL Group, with annual revenues of more than $7 billion, is one of the nation's largest providers of electricity-related services. Its principal subsidiary, Florida Power & Light Company, serves 3.9 million customer accounts in Florida. FPL Energy, LLC, FPL Group's U.S. energy-generating subsidiary, is a leader in producing electricity from clean and renewable fuels. Additional information is available on the Internet at http://www.fplgroup.com/ , http://www.fpl.com/ and http://www.fplenergy.com/ .

FPL Group will host a webcast scheduled at 9 a.m. EDT on Monday, April 2, 2001. To access the webcast, please go to the Web site http://www.vcall.com/ .

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SOURCE: FPL Group, Inc.