News Release

For Immediate Release
July 17, 2002

SaskEnergy Announces Partners in NS Natural Gas Distribution Bid

HALIFAX, NS - SaskEnergy announced today that it would form an all-Canadian partnership with Scotia Investments Ltd. and AltaGas Services Inc. to become the natural gas distributor in Nova Scotia.

"We are extremely pleased to welcome Scotia Investments and AltaGas to our team," said Ron Clark, president, SaskEnergy. "The combination of natural gas experience and expertise, local commitment and a history of solid economic performance makes this partnership the right choice to distribute natural gas in Nova Scotia."

"Long-term, financially rewarding Nova Scotia investments have been key to our success as a company," said George Bishop, president, Scotia Investments. "We see this opportunity as another way to have a positive influence on our province's future."

"Investing in Nova Scotia presents an exciting new opportunity to advance AltaGas on the national scale while expanding our natural gas distribution business," said David Cornhill, president and chief executive officer of AltaGas. "We are looking forward to developing this project with our partners and to working with the people of Nova Scotia."

The project team is working on developing an application to be submitted to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board. Memorandums of Understanding have also been signed with community partners Halifax Regional Municipality and the Town of Amherst. These agreements are designed to ensure a positive and inclusive working relationship with local municipalities.

This partnership will be an aggressive energy industry player in Nova Scotia. "We are a natural gas company committed to providing Nova Scotia consumers real choice with respect to their energy needs," said Clark. "We're looking forward to building a very competitive, successful enterprise business here."

Ownership of the new Nova Scotia-based entity will be shared by SaskEnergy International Inc. (50.1 percent), Scotia Investments Limited (25 percent) and AltaGas Services Inc. (24.9 percent).

For 45 years, SaskEnergy has been committed to providing complete natural gas service in Saskatchewan. Currently it has over 63,000 kilometres of distribution pipeline, 13,500 kilometres of high pressure transmission network supplying natural gas to homes, farms, commercial and industrial customers, in 585 communities across Saskatchewan and Manitoba. SaskEnergy has over 322,000 customers and successfully provides cost-effective natural gas service to over 93 percent of customers within a service territory six times the size of Nova Scotia.

Scotia Investments Limited, a private investment holding company incorporated in 1945, is owned by the Jodrey family of Hantsport, Nova Scotia. The company has interests across Canada and the United States that encompass such diverse activities as paper, food processing and manufacturing, floral, transportation, real estate development, environmental and waste treatment industries, metal finishing, specialized coatings and health care. In Nova Scotia Scotia Investments has major interests in Minas Basin Pulp and Power Company Limited (founded by R. A. Jodrey in 1927 and celebrating its 75th anniversary this year), CKF Inc., Maritime Paper Products Limited, Annapolis Group Inc., High Liner Foods Inc., Extendicare Inc. and other operating companies.

AltaGas is Canada's only publicly-traded pure play midstream energy company. AltaGas moves energy from its source to the end user, adding value through the process. The Company's over $700 million asset base, primarily located in Alberta and Saskatchewan, includes natural gas gathering and processing facilities; interests in ethane and natural gas liquids extraction plants and transmission pipelines. AltaGas distributes natural gas to Alberta customers through AltaGas Utilities Inc. and to customers in the Northwest Territories through the Ikhil Gas Project. The Company provides energy services to customers, including marketing of natural gas and natural gas liquids and marketing of power from its 50 percent ownership interest in the Sundance B power purchase arrangement.

For further information:

Kathy Peter
(306) 537-9080