Catamount Energy Closes Deal on First U.S. Wind Project, Major Development Agreement.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

RUTLAND, Vt.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 22, 2003

Catamount Energy Corp. today announced the closing of its first U.S. wind project, a 25-turbine, 37.5-megawatt wind farm in Nolan County, Texas.

Catamount is an equity investor in the project, known as Sweetwater 1, with Babcock & Brown LP and another major financial institution. The initial 25 wind turbines, provided by GE Wind Energy, should be in place by year's end. The power will be sold under a power purchase agreement with TXU Energy.

DKR Development LLC of Houston was the project developer. Babcock & Brown supported DKR and provided development funding and financial advisory services. DKR, Babcock & Brown, and Catamount have also signed an agreement to develop up to 400 megawatts on the Sweetwater site over the next few years.

"We were very patient in selecting our first U.S. wind investment, and that patience paid off with an excellent project and a partnership with quality people and investors," Catamount CEO James Moore said. "The Sweetwater project and our efforts with Force 9 in the United Kingdom give Catamount a solid, high-quality pipeline of U.S. and U.K. projects. We will continue to show discipline and patience as investors, but we are genuinely excited about the prospects for building Catamount into a major wind energy company."

"Catamount has established itself as a significant participant in the important and rapidly growing markets for wind energy," said Bob Young, CEO of Central Vermont Public Service, which owns Catamount. "Catamount has executed well, and the results are evident in the asset sales, debt reduction, and team building over the last two years. Catamount has achieved a major milestone in closing the first phase of the Sweetwater project, and it is an important step in our efforts to build shareholder value at CVPS through unregulated investments."

Catamount, the non-regulated subsidiary of CVPS (NYSE: CV), has been in the business of providing clean, cost-competitive electricity in the U.S. and Europe for over 15 years. Catamount is a developer, owner, and operator of wind energy projects.

More information on Catamount is available on the Internet at www.catenergy.com.

This press release includes statements that may constitute "forward-looking" statements, usually containing the words "believe," "estimate," "project," "expect," or similar expressions. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, future trends in wind and other projects, acceptance of the Companies products and services in the marketplace, competitive factors, dependence upon third-party vendors, and other risks. By making these forward-looking statements, the Companies undertake no obligation to update these statements for revision or changes after the date of this release.