Aug. 9, 2001

For more information contact:

James Moore -- (802) 772-6731

New Catamount Leader Puts Focus on Wind

RUTLAND, VT -- The architect of plans that took American National Power from a small start-up business to a $2.3 billion electric industry powerhouse is starting anew at a small Rutland, Vt., company, where he’s turning his attention to the wind.

James Moore, who lead American National Power from 1994 to 2000 in a period in which assets increased from $133 million to $2.3 billion, has taken over the reins at Catamount Energy Corp., a subsidiary of Central Vermont Public Service, and refocused the company to concentrate on wind generation development and ownership around the world.

"Throughout my career I’ve debated the role wind will play in generating power, and I’m convinced that wind’s time has come," Moore said. "Wind is clean, renewable, increasingly economical and it can fill niche power needs. There are enormous opportunities, and Catamount will focus on capturing them."

Catamount has 10 independent power projects around the world, including the Eckolstadt and Kavelstorf wind farms in Germany, which have combined capacity of 21.5 megawatts. Catamount has 17 employees and assets of $43 million, and operations roughly equivalent to the scale of American National Power when Moore became chief executive officer there in 1994.

As CEO of ANP, Moore lead the company through a six-year period of aggressive growth, developing a team- and shareholder-oriented culture that increased annual operating earnings from $3 million to $46 million. ANP went from an ownership position of approximately 500 megawatts to one of 4,400 MW during that period.

So why leave ANP’s massive assets to become president at little-known Catamount?

"The corporate culture of Catamount’s parent, Central Vermont Public Service, Catamount’s environmental legacy and the opportunities at Catamount are tremendous," Moore said. "Catamount has the potential to be a major player in the wind industry.

"I like a challenge, but I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t convinced that Catamount could become a leader in the wind generation business. This is the third start-up or turnaround effort in the IPP sector I’ve been involved in. The first two times we created very significant increases in shareholder value by spotting opportunities in the energy sector and rapidly growing those businesses, while maintaining a disciplined investment approach," Moore said.

"The combination of an excellent corporate culture and a great opportunity to grow another major IPP business was compelling for me," Moore said.

Catamount is a wholly owned subsidiary of CVPS, an independent electric utility with 141,000 customers in Vermont. Subsidiary Connecticut Valley Electric serves 10,000 customers in New Hampshire.

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