December 01, 2009

Bangor Hydro Employees Give Generously to United Way Campaign

BANGOR, Maine -- Bangor Hydro Electric Company delivered nearly $103,000 in checks and pledges to United Way of Eastern Maine as part of its 2009 campaign. The money was raised through employee pledges, fundraising activities and a 100 percent corporate match. More than 50 percent of employees contributed to this campaign.

"I'm very proud that so many employees believe in supporting the agencies that are working to improve lives," said Bangor Hydro President and Chief Operating Officer Robert Hanf. "I'm especially proud to work with such a generous, caring group of employees."

Fundraising events included a pumpkin cook-off, online auction, dress down days and raffles. Bangor Hydro employees also participated in a United Way day of volunteering at The Elizabeth Levinson Center in Bangor where they painted a room at the residential facility that serves severely disabled children.

"Employees contributed in so many ways to this campaign, either through contributions, volunteerism or participation in fundraising events such as the cook-off," said Communications Officer Susan Faloon, Bangor Hydro's 2009 United Way Campaign Chair. "It was truly amazing how employees came together as a team, with more employees than ever participating."

"We're very gratified that Bangor Hydro Electric Company continues to show such deep commitment to advancing the good work of United Way and its partners," said John Kuropchak, president of United Way of Eastern Maine. "Their generosity is a strong endorsement to the value of improving education, income and health across Eastern Maine."

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 $4.7 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 600,000 customers. Emera also owns 19% of St. Lucia Electricity Services Limited, which serves more than 50,000 customers on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia and 25% of Grand Bahama Power Company which serves 19,000 customers on the Caribbean island of Grand Bahama. In addition to its electric utility investments, Emera has 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; a 7.4% interest in Open Hydro and Emera Energy Services which manages energy assets on behalf of third parties. Visit Emera on the web at www.emera.com.