AMP-Ohio President/CEO Marc Gerken said his organization signed thecontract on January 8, naming Bechtel the engineer-procure-construct (EPC)contractor for the $3.25 billion American Municipal Power GeneratingStation (AMPGS) and granting the engineering firm alimited-notice-to-proceed on the project.

The AMPGS project is an approximately 1,000 MW coal-fired generating plant,transmission line and associated facilities under development adjacent tothe Ohio River in southern Meigs County. The facility will utilize thelatest in proven, state-of-the-art emission control equipment, which willmake the facility the cleanest in the region and one of the cleanestfacilities of its type in the nation. AMPGS will supply power to 81municipal electric systems in Ohio, Michigan, Virginia and West Virginia.

With corporate headquarters in San Francisco and offices throughout theworld, Bechtel is a global leader in engineering, construction and projectmanagement. "We are proud to have been selected by AMP-Ohio," said LeeLushbaugh, president of Bechtel Fossil Power. "This is an exciting projectthat will benefit both the local and state economy and AMP-Ohio'scustomers." As the EPC contractor, Bechtel will manage the primary aspectsof the design and construction of the AMPGS project. The contract wasawarded following an RFP process and several months of negotiations. Thosenegotiations yielded a contract that provides incentives to Bechtel tolower AMPGS costs and provide cost escalation protection, Gerken said.

The project represents a significant economic development boost in a regionof the country hit particularly hard by the current recession. Gerkenestimated 1,600 construction workers will be involved during the estimated4 1/2 year construction time frame. Once on-line, he said, the facilitywill employ 165 full-time operators. Conservative estimates predict the$3.25 billion facility will contribute more than $20 million to the localeconomy on an annual basis.

AMP-Ohio announced Meigs County as the preferred site for the facility inOctober 2005. The project remains contingent upon receipt of final permitsand successful negotiations of state and local incentives.

"AMP-Ohio is understandably proud of the AMPGS project," Gerken said. "Thisproject is part of a strategic generation asset development effort inresponse to changes to the wholesale electric market -- a market that hasbecome extremely volatile and increasingly dysfunctional. Our assetdevelopment effort includes a diversified mix of new generation sourcesincluding hydroelectric and other renewable resources along with fossilfuel projects. It is being designed from the ground up to maximizeefficiency, reduce emissions and plan for future carbon capture. This willbe a state-of-the-art facility and model for responsible use of ournation's abundant supply of coal." AMP-Ohio's studies have shown thatreplacing power currently generated from older, less controlled, lessefficient units with power generated from AMPGS will markedly decrease theemissions "footprint" of the energy used by its participating membersystems' customers.

Gerken said the AMPGS facility will utilize Powerspan emission controltechnology, principally to control sulfur dioxide emissions withco-benefits for the control of mercury and particulate matter. ThePowerspan process will be a component of a system of emission controltechnology at the facility. One of the principal reasons for choosingPowerspan technology, Gerken explained, is the promise it shows forefficiently capturing carbon emissions from the facility -- technology thatdoesn't currently exist for large-scale applications. He said in laboratorytests conducted by the New Hampshire-based company and the U.S. Departmentof Energy, Powerspan was able to capture 90 percent of carbon emissions. Acommercial pilot of the Powerspan carbon capture system is currentlyunderway at the R.E. Burger plant in eastern Ohio. In addition toparticipating in the commercial-scale carbon capture pilot, AMP-Ohio is amember of the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnershipinvestigating sequestration technologies.

"We've done our homework in terms of carbon and have and will continue toalign our organization with solid partners," Gerken said. "We know thatthis is an important issue for the future of coal-fired generation, and webelieve Powerspan's technology will get us there faster and more costeffectively than any other process. When the use of Powerspan technologywas being investigated as an option for future carbon capture, I was askedif I was comfortable being an early adopter of a new technology. Myresponse was that I would rather be among the first to install a newstate-of-the-art technology than the last to install an outdatedtechnology."

The AMPGS project has received a final air permit-to-install from the OhioEPA along with the final National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System(NPDES) permit, also issued by the Ohio EPA. Both of those permits havebeen appealed by a consortium of activist groups. However, AMP-Ohio maylegally continue to develop and to construct the project as the appealsproceed. The Ohio Power Siting Board has issued Certificates ofEnvironmental Compatibility and Public Need for both the generationfacility and the associated transmission line. Gerken said other criticalpath permits remain pending and are progressing along anticipatedschedules.

In October 2008, a participants committee was formed comprised ofrepresentatives from the 81 participating communities from Ohio, Michigan,Virginia and West Virginia. The 18-member committee will be responsible fordecisions regarding financing, construction and operation of the facility.The committee is chaired by Ivan Henderson, commissioner of Cleveland(Ohio) Public Power and Joe King, assistant city manager for utilities forthe City of Danville (Virginia) who serves as vice chair.

"Our member communities are strongly behind this project because they havedemanded and received due diligence and full disclosure," Gerken continued."This project represents a long-term source of energy, at below marketrates, reducing over-exposure to the volatile market and stabilizing powercosts. We are well-positioned and our timing allows us to leveragedecreasing commodity prices in other markets while assessing the financialmarkets. The project itself is a major economic development opportunity andthe construction and operation of the facility will bring substantialeconomic development to the southern Ohio region. Bechtel, Powerspan, TheAndersons (who will partner in marketing the fertilizer product created bythe Powerspan technology), and the project owner's engineer, R.W. Beck areall U.S. headquartered companies, and very respected in their fields ofdiscipline. The more than six years of work that have gone into thisproject to date have yielded a financially and environmentally responsibleproject that is beneficial to all involved," Gerken concluded.

About AMP-Ohio

AMP-Ohio is the Columbus, Ohio-based nonprofit wholesale power supplier andservices provider for 126 member municipal electric systems in Ohio,Pennsylvania, Michigan, Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky. Theorganization provides a diverse mix in its wholesale generation resources,which in addition to fossil fuel, includes wind, hydroelectric, landfillgas and distributed generation. For more information abut AMP-Ohio visitwww.amp-ohio.org.

About Bechtel

Bechtel is one of the world's premier engineering, construction, andproject management companies. Since its founding in 1898, Bechtel hasworked on more than 22,000 projects in 140 countries. Today, Bechtel's42,500 employees are teamed with customers, partners, and suppliers onhundreds of projects in nearly 50 countries. For more information aboutBechtel visit www.bechtel.com.

AMP-Ohio Contact:Kent CarsonSr. Director of CommunicationsAMP-Ohio614/337-6222614/578-5389 (cell)Email ContactBechtel Contact:Francis CanavanMedia Relations ManagerBechtel Corporation(415) 728-2832Email Contact