Allegheny Energy to Accelerate Power Procurement Schedule
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Response to Favorable Market Conditions
GREENSBURG, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Allegheny Power, the electricity delivery unit of Allegheny Energy, Inc. (NYSE: AYE), announced today that the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has approved the company’s request to accelerate its power procurement schedule for residential customers.
The change will move the company’s first power auction from June 2009 to April 2009, as well as expand the amount purchased in June. The accelerated schedule is expected to benefit residential customers by taking advantage of recent declines in the market price of power.
The April auction will be the first in a series to procure power over a multi-year period for Allegheny’s Pennsylvania customers for the period beyond December 31, 2010, when generation rate caps expire. The multiple auctions are designed to protect customers against over-exposure to market conditions at any single point in time, much like a dollar cost-averaging strategy to investing.
Allegheny Energy
Headquartered in Greensburg, Pa., Allegheny Energy is an investor-owned electric utility with total annual revenues of over $3 billion and more than 4,000 employees. The company owns and operates generating facilities and delivers low-cost, reliable electric service to approximately 1.6 million customers in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia. For more information, visit our Web site at www.alleghenyenergy.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
In addition to historical information, this release may contain a number of "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as anticipate, expect, project, intend, plan, believe, and words and terms of similar substance used in connection with any discussion of future plans, actions, or events identify forward-looking statements. These include statements with respect to: rate regulation and the status of retail generation service supply competition in states served by Allegheny Energy’s distribution business, Allegheny Power; financing plans; demand for energy and the cost and availability of raw materials, including coal; provider-of-last-resort and power supply contracts; results of litigation; results of operations; internal controls and procedures; capital expenditures; status and condition of plants and equipment; capacity purchase commitments; and regulatory matters. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, expectations and projections and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that actual results will not materially differ from expectations. Actual results have varied materially and unpredictably from past expectations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others, the following: plant performance and unplanned outages; changes in the price of power and fuel for electric generation; general economic and business conditions; changes in access to capital markets and actions of rating agencies; complications or other factors that render it difficult or impossible to obtain necessary lender consents or regulatory authorizations on a timely basis; environmental regulations; the results of regulatory proceedings, including proceedings related to rates; changes in industry capacity, development and other activities by Allegheny Energy’s competitors; changes in the weather and other natural phenomena; changes in customer switching behavior and their resulting effects on existing and future load requirements; changes in the underlying inputs and assumptions, including market conditions used to estimate the fair values of commodity contracts; changes in laws and regulations applicable to Allegheny Energy, its markets or its activities; the loss of any significant customers or suppliers; dependence on other electric transmission and gas transportation systems and their constraints or availability; inflationary and interest rate trends changes in market rules, including changes to PJM participant rules and tariffs; the effect of accounting pronouncements issued periodically by accounting standard-setting bodies and accounting issues facing our organization; and the continuing effects of global instability, terrorism and war. Additional risks and uncertainties are identified and discussed in Allegheny Energy’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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