Northeastern utility holding company Energy East Corp. said Friday that its shareholders voted to declassify its board of directors and will begin electing all board members annually starting next year.

The company said the declassification plan was proposed by the current board in an effort to improve corporate governance. “Electing all directors annually is just one of the many improvements we are making to further strengthen our corporate governance standards,” said Energy East CEO Wes von Schack. “We have always believed that good corporate governance is a significant contributor to a company’s long term success.”

At Energy East’s annual meeting, shareholders also discussed the adoption of stock ownership guidelines for directors and senior management and a resolution that the board will not adopt a “poison pill” without shareholder approval.

Von Schack touted the results of a recent study that rated Energy East in the top 16% of S&P 400 companies for excellence in corporate governance, which was an improvement from its top quartile position last year. “We are proud of the steps we have taken to improve accountability to shareholders and intend to continue to be a leader in this area,” he said.

Energy East subsidiaries serve about three million customers throughout upstate New York and New England.

©Copyright 2004 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.