May 24, 2002

FPL Group hosts annual meeting; Chairman and CEO expects continued strong growth

JUNO BEACH, Fla. - FPL Group, Inc. (NYSE: FPL) is expected to continue its strong growth due to three fundamental characteristics of the company - financial strength, financial discipline and operational excellence, Lew Hay, chairman and CEO, told stockholders at the company's annual meeting today.

"Through our financial discipline, we've avoided a lot of the hype and fads that have been prevalent over the past few years in our industry," Mr. Hay said. "Sticking to the things we do well has contributed to the strong relative position we enjoy today as a high-quality, efficient and customer-driven organization focused on energy-related products and services."

He said the firm's financial strength is demonstrated by its strong track record of consistent earnings growth. Since 1997, FPL Group achieved an average annual earnings per share growth rate of over 7 percent. In 2001, net income was up 6 percent and earnings per share were up 7 percent.

Mr. Hay said FPL Group has three strong businesses, each with a track record of earnings growth:

• Florida Power & Light Company, the largest investor-owned utility in Florida, contributes more than 85 percent of earnings and is expected to grow earnings at 4 to 5 percent a year off of a 2002 base.
• FPL Energy, a leading independent power producer, demonstrated earnings growth of more than 25 percent for four years in a row and is expected to grow earnings on average at the 20-30 percent range through the build-out of already announced projects and additional wind projects.
• FPL FiberNet, a niche fiber optic business, was one of the few profitable companies in the very challenging telecommunications market last year and expects growth over the long term.
  

Mr. Hay said that FPL Group's operational excellence means being a low-cost producer while simultaneously providing a high-quality product with excellent service.

He said, "Operational excellence at FPL Group is borne of a long tradition of quality and continuous improvement, which has become embedded in our culture. We constantly measure our performance against other top companies and always look for ways to get better, even in areas where we're at or near the top."

Paul Evanson, president of Florida Power & Light Company, pointed out that even with a weak economy and the aftermath of Sept. 11th, "Florida Power & Light's 2001 performance was exceptionally strong, reflecting the fundamental strengths that have made us one of the top performers in our industry.

"We've reduced our operating and maintenance costs per kilowatt hour almost 40 percent over the last 10 years. Today our O&M costs per customer are nearly 50 percent below the industry average."

Mr. Evanson emphasized that FPL has adequate and expanding generating capacity and will continue to meet the growing energy needs of Florida with a 20 percent reserve margin. FPL also is expanding its power distribution infrastructure to maintain high reliability of service.

Ron Green, president of FPL Energy, reviewed the subsidiary's growth strategy. "We are focused on power generation and growing our portfolio. But we are not growing for growth's sake just to get bigger. We will grow our portfolio in a very disciplined way to create shareholder value. We'll be building out our already announced portfolio with an emphasis on wind and natural gas plants and using our financial strength to make selected acquisitions."

During his address to stockholders, Mr. Hay strongly contrasted the operations of FPL Group and that of Enron and some other energy-related companies.

Mr. Hay said, "The energy industry - and corporate America in general - is still experiencing aftershocks from the Enron debacle whether it's about accounting practices, trading schemes or myriad other issues.

"Let me assure you that at FPL Group we have not engaged in the type of questionable trading Enron and the others have. That certainly would not have been consistent with our business practices nor our business strategy. And let me further assure you that we have strong controls in place and very active involvement by senior management, including myself, to keep things of this sort from happening at our company."

"At FPL Group, we run our business in a conservative and ethical manner. A year or so ago, we were even criticized for being too conservative. Today, I think people have come to appreciate that being conservative is just the right way to conduct business. In keeping with our conservatism, our management team and our board launched a comprehensive review of our business practices and corporate governance polices. Our board and senior management team take very seriously our responsibility to ensure that your company is managed properly with the proper oversight."

The board of directors declared a regular quarterly common stock dividend of 58 cents a share, payable June 17 to stockholders of record June 7. The declaration marks the 226th consecutive quarterly dividend paid to common stockholders over the past 56 years.

FPL Group, with annual revenues of more than $8 billion, is nationally known as a high-quality, efficient, and customer-driven organization focused on energy-related products and services. With a growing presence in more than a dozen states, it is widely recognized as one of the country's premier power companies. Its principal subsidiary, Florida Power & Light Company, serves approximately 4 million customer accounts in Florida. FPL Energy, LLC, an FPL Group energy-generating subsidiary, is a leader in producing electricity from clean and renewable fuels. Additional information is available on the Internet at www.fplgroup.com , www.fpl.com and www.fplenergy.com.

(For a transcript of Mr. Hay's remarks, contact media relations at 305-552-3888 or go to FPL's Web site, www.fplgroup.com.)

Safe Harbor Statement: Any statements made herein about future operating results or other future events are forward-looking statements under the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ substantially from such forward-looking statements. A discussion of factors that could cause actual results or events to vary is contained in FPL Group's 2001 SEC Form 10-K/A.