Bangor Hydro's New Transmission Line to Parallel Existing Utility Corridors.

BANGOR, Maine -- Bangor Hydro-Electric Company today announced the "Consolidated Corridors Route" as the preferred route for the Northeast Reliability Interconnect project, a proposed new 345 kV transmission line connecting eastern Maine with New Brunswick, Canada. One of five route options under consideration since Sept. 2003, the Consolidated Corridors Route was chosen based on a matrix of nearly 70 criteria developed with feedback from state and federal environmental review agencies, major landowners and interest groups.

The Consolidated Corridors Route generally parallels the existing MEPCO Transmission Line from Orrington, Maine to the Stud Mill Road. The route then follows the Stud Mill Road and the natural gas pipeline right-of-way to cross the international border at Baileyville, Maine. While neither the shortest nor the least costly route considered, the Consolidated Corridors Route will require the least amount of virgin right-of-way and will impact the fewest number of individual landowners.

The Consolidated Corridors Route is co-located with existing road and utility corridors for 96 percent of its length, minimizing environmental impacts and allowing construction and maintenance access via the Stud Mill Road. This type of co-location is consistent with the regulatory preference to co-locate utility projects wherever feasible. Bangor Hydro selected this route based on feedback from stakeholders and the Natural Resources Council of Maine's intervention and opposition to a previous route that was co-located for only 26 percent of its length.

"We are confident that locating the transmission line along the Consolidated Corridors Route best achieves the project purpose while balancing landowner, environmental and economic considerations," said Rob Bennett, Bangor Hydro's General Manager of Asset Management.

The Consolidated Corridors Route was selected on the basis of evaluation criteria measuring such factors as project purpose, impacts to wetlands, rare plants, wildlife, fisheries, recreational resources, archeological sites and project cost. Bangor Hydro received valuable input on environmental, engineering and cost criteria for the project throughout the year-long analysis and selection process.

"Feedback from stakeholders will continue to be important during the next phase of the project as we refine or 'micro-site' the route, minimizing the impact to sensitive resources," said Bennett. "As we move forward, the exact placement of the line will be carefully refined at each point from Orrington to Baileyville."

Once built, the NRI will improve the reliability and overall stability of the existing transmission system, increase the electric transmission import/export capabilities between Maine, New England and the Maritimes, and improve the efficiency of the existing system by reducing the electric energy lost during transmission. The NRI will also expand economic access to the US electric grid for residents in Washington and Aroostook counties. Furthermore, the benefits of the NRI will be felt across all of New England and the Canadian Maritimes.

"This transmission line is critical not only to Washington County, but to the entire State and region. The blackout on August 14, 2003 clearly demonstrates that we can no longer take for granted the reliability of the regional transmission system," stated Senator Ed Youngblood, member of the Maine Legislature's Utilities and Energy Committee. Although Maine shares over 600 miles of border with Canada, there is only one bulk transmission line linking the two regions and their electrical system operations. Providing a parallel path to the existing aging line, is a prudent measure to address both system reliability issues and economic opportunities.

Public outreach efforts will continue throughout the permitting phase of the project in order to share information and to receive further input that will factor into route adjustment decisions for specific localized concerns. Federal Department of Energy and state Department of Environmental Protection permitting processes will consider public comments as well. Public notice of those sessions will be issued well in advance. Parties interested in more information on the project are invited to contact the Company directly at 1-800-499-6600 extension 2568 or through the website at: www.bhe.com/nri

Bangor Hydro-Electric Company: Bangor Hydro-Electric Company (BHE) is an electric utility wholly-owned by Emera Inc. BHE serves a population of 192,000 in an area encompassing 5,275 square miles in eastern and east coastal Maine and provides electricity transmission and distribution service to 107,000 customers. BHE is a member of the New England Power Pool and is interconnected with other New England utilities to the south and with the New Brunswick Power Corp. to the north. Visit us at www.bhe.com.

Emera Inc. (EMA-TSX) is an energy and services company with 570,000 customers and $4.0 billion in assets. The core business of Emera is electricity and the company has two wholly-owned regulated electric utility subsidiaries, Nova Scotia Power Inc. and Bangor Hydro-Electric Company. Nova Scotia Power supplies over 95% of the electric generation, transmission and distribution in Nova Scotia. Bangor Hydro provides electricity transmission and distribution service to 107,000 customers in eastern Maine. It is a member of the New England Power Pool, and is interconnected with the other New England utilities to the south and with New Brunswick Power to the north. In addition Emera owns a 12.9% interest in the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, which delivers Sable natural gas to markets in Maritime Canada and the northeastern United States; Emera Energy Services which manages energy assets on behalf of third parties and provides related services; and Emera Fuels, which distributes home heating oil and related products to customers in the Maritime provinces. Visit Emera on the web at www.emera.com.