November 15, 2007

Bangor Hydro Electric Company Recognized for Exemplary Safety Standards

Bangor, ME-Bangor Hydro Electric Company received OSHA’s highest level of safety recognition, "Star" designation today. OSHA officials joined Bangor Hydro's Employee Safety Team, management, union leadership, and other dignitaries to celebrate the achievement at Spectacular Event Center in Bangor as the VPP Star Status flag was presented.

VPP stands for Voluntary Protection Program and is a cooperative program that recognizes employers with outstanding workplace safety and health programs that control hazards and protect workers. OSHA approves successful employers by designating them to one of three VPP program levels: Star Demonstration, Merit, or Star, the highest VPP level. In 2005, Bangor Hydro reached Merit Status. An audit in the spring of 2007 revealed that Bangor Hydro met or exceeded all the VPP Star Expectations.

"Bangor Hydro is taking a more proactive approach to safety rather than a reactive approach," said Bangor Hydro President Bob Hanf. "Employees know there's no reason to get hurt in this industry."

"I am extremely proud of the dedication of every employee in this company who helped get us to this safety designation," said Janet Scully, Chair of the Employee Safety Team. "Keeping employees safe is the most important thing that we do."

As part of its safety program, Bangor Hydro has implemented the following programs:

• The "near miss" program, where employees report close calls anonymously if they choose without repercussions.
• This Hazard Identification Program, which has increased focus on identifying safety hazards in all areas of the company.
• Risk assessments, which are conducted before any job begins to identify possible hazards and put barriers in place to mitigate exposure.
• All Bangor Hydro employees back into parking spots which eliminates backing into traffic, a known contributor to Motor Vehicle accidents.
• In the office, employees focus on ergonomics and proper work station set up to prevent injuries.

Bangor Hydro-Electric Company (BHE) is an electric utility wholly-owned by Emera Inc. BHE serves a population of 192,000 in an area encompassing 5,275 square miles in eastern and east coastal Maine. BHE is a member of the New England Power Pool and is interconnected with other New England utilities to the south and with the New Brunswick Power Corp. to the north. Visit us at www.bhe.com.

Emera Inc. (EMA-TSX) is an energy and services company with $4.0 billion in assets. Electricity is Emera's core business. The company has two wholly-owned regulated electric utility subsidiaries, Nova Scotia Power Inc. and Bangor Hydro-Electric Company, which together serve 590,000 customers. Emera's other investments include a joint venture interest in Bear Swamp, a 600 megawatt pumped storage hydro-electric facility in northern Massachusetts; a 12.9% interest in the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline ; and Emera Energy Services which manages energy assets on behalf of third parties and provides related services. Visit Emera on the web at www.emera.com.