Five Companies Selected to Bid on Fort McMurray West 500 kV Transmission Project

Calgary, Alberta (ots/PRNewswire) -

The Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) has announced the five
companies who will compete for the opportunity to build, finance, own
and operate a major component of Alberta's transmission
infrastructure from the Wabamun area to the Fort McMurray area under
the newly created Competitive Process.

The AESO received submissions from companies around the world,
including Asia, Europe, South America and North America. Independent
experts were brought in from across North America to evaluate, score
and make a final recommendation to the AESO Board. After an
exhaustive analysis of technical, financial and route development
expertise, the five companies selected to enter the Request for
Proposals (RFP) stage are:

1) Alberta PowerLine - owned by Canadian Utilities Limited and Quanta
Capital Solutions Inc. Valard Construction LP would undertake design and construction
work and ATCO Electric Ltd. would be responsible for operating and maintaining the
transmission facilities.
2) Athabasca Transmission - owned by AltaLink LP and AEP Transmission Holding
Company LLC. Burns and McDonnell Canada Ltd. and SNC Lavalin T&D would design and
construct the facilities while AltaLink LP and AEP Transmission Holding Company LLC
would be responsible for ongoing operations and maintenance.
3) NorSpan Partners LP - owned by EPCOR Utilities Inc. and LS Power Associates
LP. Kiewit Energy Canada Corp. and Sargent & Lundy LLC would undertake design and
construction work while EPCOR Utilities Inc. would be responsible for operating and
maintaining the transmission facilities.
4) TAMA Transmission LP - owned by MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company and
TransAlta. MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company (through its wholly owned subsidiary
MidAmerican Transmission) would undertake design and construction work while TAMA
Transmission would be responsible for ongoing operations and maintenance.
5) TransCanada/Elecnor - owned by TransCanada PipeLines Limited and Elecnor S.A.
Elecnor would be responsible for the design and construction of the facilities while
TransCanada PipeLines Limited would be responsible for operating and maintaining the
transmission facilities.

"Alberta is leading the way across North America to inject
competitive pressures into the transmission system and to see so many
world-class companies from across the globe looking to invest in
Alberta is a testament to the success of the competition to date,"
said David Erickson, AESO President and CEO.

The Fort McMurray West 500 Kilovolt Transmission Project will
consist of approximately 500 kilometres of transmission line and
associated facilities and is needed to support increasing growth in
northeastern Alberta.

"The Competitive Process is designed to put downward pressure on
transmission costs and will allow competitively priced power to reach
consumers," says Elizabeth Moore, Director of the Competitive
Process. "At the completion of the RFP stage, the qualified company
who can undertake the project at the lowest life-cycle cost will be
identified and selected."

The AESO was mandated by the Government of Alberta to develop a
Competitive Process and have it approved by the provincial
electricity regulator, the Alberta Utilities Commission. The AESO
received approval from the regulator on February 14, 2013 and will
select a winning company in December 2014. The target in-service date
for the project is 2019.

As an independent system operator, the AESO leads the safe,
reliable and economic planning and operation of Alberta's
interconnected power system. The AESO also facilitates Alberta's
fair, efficient and openly competitive wholesale electricity market,
which in 2012 had 170 participants and approximately $6.4 billion in
annual energy transactions.

For further information:
Dawn Delaney
Senior External Communications Advisor
Phone: +1-403-539-2481 Cell: +1-403-671-6129
Email:dawn.delaney@aeso.ca

ots Originaltext: Alberta Electric System Operator
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