Allegheny Energy Announces Sale of Fiber Optic Network Assets.

GREENSBURG, Pa. -- Allegheny Energy, Inc. (NYSE: AYE) announced today the sale and long-term lease of the majority of the assets of its fiber optic network subsidiary, Allegheny Communications Connect, for $27 million to NTELOS Holdings Corp.

Allegheny Communications Connect owns and manages a fiber optic network of more than 2,200 route miles, primarily in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, with portions in several adjoining states. The transaction consists of the sale, lease and assignment of about 75 percent of the network, which had approximately $7 million of revenue in 2008. Allegheny Communications Connect will retain the remaining assets to serve the needs of Allegheny Energy's electric utility subsidiaries, including Smart Grid initiatives.

The parties expect to close the transaction by year-end 2009. The agreement is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

About NTELOS

NTELOS Holdings Corp. is an integrated communications provider with headquarters in Waynesboro, Va. NTELOS provides products and services to customers in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Maryland and North Carolina, including wireless phone service, local and long distance telephone services, IPTV-based video services and data services for internet access and wide area networking. Detailed information about NTELOS is available at www.ntelos.com.

Allegheny Energy

Headquartered in Greensburg, Pa., Allegheny Energy is an investor-owned electric utility with total annual revenues of over $3 billion and more than 4,000 employees. The company owns and operates generating facilities and delivers low-cost, reliable electric service to 1.6 million customers in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.alleghenyenergy.com.

Forward-Looking Statements 

In addition to historical information, this release contains a number of "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as anticipate, expect, project, intend, plan, believe, and words and terms of similar substance used in connection with any discussion of future plans, actions, or events identify forward-looking statements. These include statements with respect to: rate regulation and the status of retail generation service supply competition in states served by Allegheny Energy's distribution business, Allegheny Power; financing plans; demand for energy and the cost and availability of raw materials, including coal; provider-of-last-resort and power supply contracts; results of litigation; results of operations; internal controls and procedures; capital expenditures; status and condition of plants and equipment; capacity purchase commitments; regulatory matters; and accounting issues. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, expectations and projections and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that actual results will not materially differ from expectations. Actual results have varied materially and unpredictably from past expectations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others, the following: plant performance and unplanned outages; changes in the price of power and fuel for electric generation; general economic and business conditions; changes in access to capital markets; complications or other factors that render it difficult or impossible to obtain necessary lender consents or regulatory authorizations on a timely basis; environmental regulations; the results of regulatory proceedings, including proceedings related to rates; changes in industry capacity, development and other activities by Allegheny Energy's competitors; changes in the weather and other natural phenomena; changes in customer switching behavior and their resulting effects on existing and future load requirements; changes in the underlying inputs and assumptions, including market conditions used to estimate the fair values of commodity contracts; changes in laws and regulations applicable to Allegheny Energy, its markets or its activities; the loss of any significant customers or suppliers; dependence on other electric transmission and gas transportation systems and their constraints or availability; changes in PJM, including changes to participant rules and tariffs; the effect of accounting policies issued periodically by accounting standard-setting bodies; and the continuing effects of global instability, terrorism and war. Additional risks and uncertainties are identified and discussed in Allegheny Energy's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.