September 21, 2007

Helicopters to String Wires Near City for Bangor Hydro's NRI Project

Bangor, ME--Construction on Bangor Hydro Electric Company's Northeast Reliability Interconnect (NRI) transmission line has reached the greater Bangor/Brewer area. A helicopter working for InfraSource Transmission Services has worked through the summer stringing wire through rural areas and now the work is approaching high traffic and visibility areas, prompting safety concerns and public notice.

Work on the project is expected to take place this weekend and over the next two to three weeks in the Bradley, Eddington, Holden, Brewer and Orrington areas. The highway crossings of Rt. 9 and Rt. 1A are particularly sensitive areas. We ask the public to help keep traffic flowing as smoothly as possible through these areas. Sunday workdays have been planned with the Department of Transportation to minimize traffic impact.

"InfraSource has been using a very efficient method of stringing wire which uses a helicopter to connect and pull the line between the structures," said Gerry Chasse, project manager. "It's very fascinating to watch, but we don't want people to put themselves, others, or our contractors at risk when viewing the construction. Everyone should stay well clear of the right-of-way area during construction."

Bangor Hydro is building the 85-mile-long line to create a new connection between the New England and Maritime Canada electric systems. New Brunswick Power is building the 60 miles of connecting line on the Canadian side. The new line will improve reliability and efficiency of the system and increase marketing of electric power between New England and New Brunswick. It will operate at 345,000 volts and carry as much as 700 megawatts of power, enough to supply about a third of the state's power requirements at peak usage time.

InfraSource is building the NRI line which is on schedule to be completed late this year.

Media wishing to take photos of the project should contact Susan Faloon at 973-2712 or 949-3917 to arrange a safe time and location.

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. 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 $4.0 billion in assets. Electricity is Emera's core business. The company has two wholly-owned regulated electric utility subsidiaries, Nova Scotia Power Inc. and Bangor Hydro-Electric Company, which together serve 590,000 customers. Emera's other investments include a joint venture interest in Bear Swamp, a 600 megawatt pumped storage hydro-electric facility in northern Massachusetts; a 12.9% interest in the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline ; and Emera Energy Services which manages energy assets on behalf of third parties and provides related services. Visit Emera on the web at www.emera.com.