UtiliCorp United announced that a Canadian subsidiary is sellingoff its retail electricity business in Alberta for US$75 million toEPCOR, an Alberta power, water and natural gas company based inEdmonton. Utilicorp will retain the wires portion of its Albertaelectricity holdings, which include about 54,000 miles oflow-voltage distribution lines. It entered the Alberta retail powermarket only seven months ago with the purchase of TransAlta Corp.’sprovincial assets for $450 million.

The deal with EPCOR involves about 350,000 electricity customersand about 100 employees, most of who are based in UtiliCorp’scustomer call center in Calgary. EPCOR will acquire the operationsand retail rights to the customers of UtiliCorp Networks Canada.Under the agreement, residential, farm and small business customerswill automatically transfer to the Regulated Rate Option on Jan. 1,2001, unless they choose an unregulated service package, eitherfrom EPCOR or from another competitive retailer. EPCOR also willcontinue to provide services for all medium and large business andindustrial customers who do not choose a retail service provider.

Robert Holzwarth, UtiliCorp Networks Canada chief executiveofficer, said the agreement with EPCOR allows UtiliCorp to maintaina strategic focus on the efficient management of electricitydistribution networks in Alberta.

“This agreement will more than double our current customer baseand firmly establish EPCOR’s presence throughout the provincialmarketplace,” said EPCOR CEO Don Lowry. EPCOR has US$1.6 billion inassets.

The agreement is subject to approval by the Alberta Energy andUtilities Board (AEUB), which the companies expect to receive inOctober.

Alberta began the process of deregulating wholesale electricitywith the passage of the Electric Utility Act in 1995. A 1998amendment moved the province further along the path to deregulationby allowing retail customers to choose among competitiveelectricity suppliers beginning Jan. 1, 2001.

The other Canadian utility operation of UtiliCorp NetworksCanada is West Kootenay Power, an integrated electric utility withheadquarters in Trail, British Columbia.

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