Elk Point REA Members Vote to Sell to ATCO Electric

ELK POINT, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - Oct. 9, 2012) - ATCO Electric

At a special general meeting held Sept. 5, 2012 the members of the Elk Point Rural Electrification Association (REA) voted 87 per cent in favour of a motion to sell their electric distribution system to ATCO Electric pending approval by the Alberta Utilities Commission and all sale conditions being met. Upon completion of the sale, each member will receive just over $19,000 for each site they own. The motion to sell was based on an ATCO Electric purchase proposal requested by the Elk Point REA Board of Directors.

"It has been a great honour to be an REA for the past 57 years and to have had a part in bringing electricity to rural Alberta," said Ed Smith, President, Elk Point REA. "It was time for us to explore our options for the future and to present them to the membership. By selling to ATCO Electric, we will have lower monthly distribution rates and the peace of mind that we will continue to receive reliable electrical service for generations to come."

"We have been privileged to serve the Elk Point REA and its membership since it was first formed back in 1955 and to have developed strong ties to the community," said Brent Kobelka, Manager, Southeast Region, ATCO Electric. "On behalf of ATCO Electric, I would like to applaud all Elk Point REA members who have served on the Board over the years for their work to build and maintain their electrical system. We appreciate the opportunity this sale brings us to continue to serve them and the rest of the membership."

A rural electrification association is a not-for-profit cooperative that owns an electrical distribution system and supplies electric energy to members in a rural region of Alberta.

ATCO Electric provides safe, reliable delivery of electricity to nearly 213,000 customers in 245 communities across Alberta and is part of the ATCO Group of Companies. ATCO Group, with more than 8,800 employees and assets of approximately $13 billion, delivers service excellence and innovative business solutions worldwide with leading companies engaged in structures & logistics (manufacturing, logistics and noise abatement), utilities (pipelines, natural gas and electricity transmission and distribution), energy (power generation, natural gas gathering, processing, storage and liquids extraction) and technologies (business systems solutions). More information can be found at www.atco.com.