Central Vermont Public Service Joins Chicago Climate Exchange.

RUTLAND, Vt. -- Central Vermont Public Service (NYSE - CV) today announced it has joined the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the first and only voluntary, legally binding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction and trading program in North America. The action positions CVPS as a vanguard in GHG emissions management and environmental policy.

"Central Vermont Public Service has always focused on environmentally sustainable energy and responsible utility management of our natural assets," said CVPS President and CEO Robert H. Young. "Our participation in CCX is just the latest example of our commitment to limiting our impact on the environment, and working to improve it."

The Vermont utility joins four other U.S. and Canadian electric power utilities and more than two dozen other public and private entities in its pledge to reduce GHG emissions by 4 percent below a 1998-2001 baseline average by the end of 2006. Reductions can be made internally, or CVPS can purchase CCX Carbon Financial Instruments on CCX's electronic trading platform to achieve annual compliance. Emission reductions beyond what is required by the annual CCX emission reduction schedule can be banked for use in future years or sold to other CCX members.

"Central Vermont Public Service is a leader in innovative GHG emissions management and renewable energy generation, and continues to serve as an example of proactive and intelligent climate policy in the Northeast," said CCX Chairman and CEO Dr. Richard L. Sandor. "I look forward to the utility's active participation as we continue to build the CCX membership."

Central Vermont Public Service is a three-time winner of both the National Arbor Day Foundation's Tree Line USA Award and the Vermont Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence, the state's highest honor. CVPS's customer-driven voluntary renewable energy program, CVPS Cow Power(TM), aims to reduce emissions of the GHG methane and is utilized by more than 1,800 customers.

"CVPS Cow Power has quickly grown to include more than one percent of our retail customers," Young said. "Our goal is to make it one of the top 10 renewable programs in the country by year-end 2010."

CVPS's forestry management program is a national leader, cited repeatedly as a model for other utilities. The company has drastically reduced herbicide use, and has shown that managing rights-of-way first for wildlife and the environment can improve reliability.

Central Vermont Public Service is Vermont's largest electric company, serving 151,000 customers across the Green Mountain State. Its subsidiary, Catamount Energy Corp., develops renewable wind projects in the U.S. and abroad.

The greenhouse gas emission reductions realized by the members of the Chicago Climate Exchange are the first reductions in North America to be achieved through a voluntary and legally binding mechanism. CCX members commit to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with climate change within their own operations; through utilization of the CCX emissions market; or by using a combination of the two approaches. Members that reduce beyond their commitment may sell emission allowances on the Exchange. Members that do not meet the reduction goal internally must buy allowances on the Exchange to come into compliance.

CCX members reflect a cross-section of major public and private sector North American entities, including Ford Motor, International Paper, IBM, American Electric Power, Manitoba Hydro, Amtrak, the City of Chicago and Oklahoma University, as well as non-industrial environmental innovators such as World Resources Institute, Pax World and the Rocky Mountain Institute. Reductions achieved through the CCX pilot market are significant in scale and impact. CCX Members gain practical experience by building an efficient emissions management and monitoring system, while also acquiring cutting edge measurement and trading skills that will be needed in short and long term as the world comes to terms with the climate change challenge.