Allegheny Energy, Inc. Announces New Name for Ventures Subsidiary.

HAGERSTOWN, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 2, 1999--

Allegheny Energy, Inc. (NYSE: AYE) announced today that its AYP Capital subsidiary is now operating as Allegheny Ventures. Allegheny Energy's Ventures subsidiary is focusing on a new name and new direction to grow the business in unregulated areas to increase revenues and shareholder value.

"Allegheny Energy enjoys strong customer satisfaction ratings in the market, and we plan to take advantage of the Allegheny brand," said Paul M. Barbas, President of Allegheny Ventures. "The name Allegheny Ventures aptly describes our business. We are venturing into new areas that will help the Company expand our customer base and revenues going forward. We are focusing primarily on high growth markets to significantly strengthen the bottom line."

Allegheny Ventures actively invests in and develops unregulated energy-related and telecommunications projects. The Allegheny Energy subsidiary operates Allegheny Communications Connect (ACC), a telecommunications subsidiary that delivers wholesale telecommunications services to business customers, and Allegheny Energy Solutions, which offers a wide range of services for engineering, construction, and operation and maintenance of transmission and distribution facilities.

Formed in 1994 as AYP Capital, the unregulated subsidiary was designed to meet the challenges of the new competitive environment in the electric utility industry. To date, Allegheny Ventures' ACC subsidiary has interconnected its fiber optic networks with three neighboring utilities to create a network with 2,000 miles of fiber optic cable, providing advanced data, voice, and video service across portions of the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. The network will be marketed to major communications carriers like MCI, Sprint, and AT&T. ACC has also teamed with Adelphia Business Solutions, formerly Hyperion Telecommunications, to form a $10-million joint venture -- a fiber optic network that provides the central Pennsylvania business community with advanced telecommunications and information technology services.

Allegheny Energy Solutions completed a $5 million contract in 1998 to build an electric substation for Elkem Metals Company L.P. at its plant in Marietta, Ohio.

"The unregulated energy market presents both challenges and opportunities for growth related to Allegheny Energy's core business," Barbas said. "By diversifying into unregulated areas, Allegheny Ventures can provide a different income stream for the Company and enable us to enter markets that are growing at a faster pace than the traditional utility business, allowing us to bolster shareholder value."

Allegheny Energy, Inc. is a diversified energy company headquartered in Hagerstown, Md. The Allegheny Energy family includes Allegheny Power, which delivers electric energy to about three million people in parts of Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia; Allegheny Energy Supply, which operates and markets competitive retail and wholesale electric generation and operates regulated electric generation for its affiliates; and Allegheny Ventures, which actively invests in and develops energy-related and telecommunications projects. For more information, check our web site at www.alleghenyenergy.com