PINEVILLE, La., Oct. 28, 2011 - Cleco Corp. (NYSE: CNL) today announced that its board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3125 per share on its common stock for the third quarter of 2011. This is an 11.6 percent increase in the current quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share. The new dividend level on an annualized basis totals $1.25 per share.

"This increase in the dividend reflects our confidence in the earnings power and financial strength of Cleco," said Bruce Williamson, president and CEO of Cleco Corp.  "Cleco has strong earnings, positive cash flow and unique, well-positioned assets to maintain reliable service to customers and deliver competitive returns to shareholders."

This is Cleco's third dividend increase since 2010.  Cleco has paid dividends to its shareholders since 1935.  

Below is a summary of the third-quarter dividend payment, as declared:

Classof Stock	DividendDeclared	RecordDate	PaymentDate
Common Stock	$0.3125	Nov. 7, 2011	Nov. 15, 2011