Laclede Group Sells New England Gas Company to Algonquin Power & Utilities

The Laclede Group, Inc. ("Laclede") today announced that Laclede has entered into an agreement ("New Agreement") with Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. ("APUC") that will allow an APUC subsidiary to assume Laclede's rights to purchase the assets of New England Gas Company ("NEG"), subject to certain approvals and conditions described below. NEG is a natural gas utility serving 50,000 customers in Massachusetts, an operating division of Southern Union Company ("Southern Union"), an affiliate of Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. and Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. Laclede announced on December 17, 2012 that one of its wholly owned subsidiaries had entered into a purchase and sale agreement with Southern Union to acquire the assets of NEG ("Initial Agreement"). "Algonquin shares our promise to maintain the high standards of safety, service and operational excellence for the customers and employees of New England Gas Company," said Suzanne Sitherwood, president and chief executive officer of Laclede. "While we had made plans for welcoming New England Gas Company into the Laclede family, Algonquin presented an offer to purchase New England Gas.  In addition to being a strong utility operator like Laclede, Algonquin brings with it the advantage of already having operations