RRI Energy Increases Size of Cash Tender Offer for Senior Secured Notes and PEDFA Bonds to $200 Million and Extends Early Participation Deadline

RRI also announced that it has extended the "Early Participation Deadline" for the Tender Offer to 12:00 midnight, New York City time, on October 19, 2009, which is the expiration time of the Tender Offer. The Early Participation Deadline was previously set to be 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on October 5, 2009. As described in the Offer to Purchase, holders of Notes or Bonds who validly tender their Notes or Bonds at or prior to the Early Participation Deadline will be eligible to receive the applicable "Total Consideration," which includes an early participation payment of $20 per $1,000 principal amount of Notes or Bonds tendered and accepted for purchase in the Tender Offer.

As of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on October 5, 2009, $129,647,000 in aggregate principal amount of Notes and Bonds had been validly tendered and not validly withdrawn.

The purchase price for Notes and Bonds will be determined in accordance with a modified Dutch auction procedure on the terms and conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase. Holders no longer have the right to withdraw tendered Notes or Bonds.

The Tender Offer is conditioned upon the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions as described in the Offer to Purchase.

RRI has retained Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. to act as the dealer manager for the Tender Offer and has retained Global Bondholder Services Corporation to act as the Information Agent and Depositary for the Tender Offer. Questions regarding the Tender Offer should be directed to the Dealer Manager at 800-553-2826 (toll-free) or 212-250-7772 (collect). Requests for documentation should be directed to the Information Agent at 212-430-3774 (for banks and brokers only) or 866-952-2200 (for all others toll-free).

This press release is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to sell with respect to any Notes or Bonds. The Tender Offer is being made solely pursuant to the Offer to Purchase and related documents.

The Tender Offer is not being made to holders of Notes or Bonds in any jurisdiction in which the making or acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities, blue sky or other laws of such jurisdiction. In any jurisdiction in which the securities laws or blue sky laws require the Tender Offer to be made by a licensed broker or dealer, the Tender Offer will be deemed to be made on behalf of RRI by the dealer manager, or one or more registered brokers or dealers that are licensed under the laws of such jurisdiction.

About RRI Energy, Inc.

RRI Energy, Inc. (NYSE:RRI), based in Houston, provides electricity to wholesale customers in the United States. The company is one of the largest independent power producers in the nation with more than 14,000 megawatts of power generation capacity across the United States. These strategically located generating assets use natural gas, fuel oil and coal. For more information, visit http://www.rrienergy.com. RRI routinely posts all important information on its investor page at this Web site.

This news release contains "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are statements that contain projections, estimates or assumptions about our revenues, margins, capital structure and other financial items, and plans and objectives for future operations or about our future economic performance, economic and market conditions, possible transactions and dispositions, financings or offerings. In many cases you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "continue," "could," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "should," "will," "expect," "objective," "projection," "forecast," "goal," "guidance," "outlook," "effort," "target" and other similar words. However, the absence of these words does not mean that the statements are not forward-looking.

Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements as a result of many factors or events, including, but not limited to, legislative, regulatory and/or market developments, the outcome of pending lawsuits, governmental proceedings and investigations, the effects of competition, financial and economic market conditions, access to capital, the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices and interest rates, weather conditions and other factors we discuss or refer to in the "Risk Factors" section of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE: RRI Energy, Inc.

RRI Energy, Inc. 
Laurie Fickman, 713-497-7720 (Media Relations) 
Dennis Barber, 713-497-3042 (Investor Relations) 
www.rrienergy.com