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Emera Reports Q1 Earnings of $46.5 Million

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, May 4, 2004, (TSX:EMA): Emera Inc.'s consolidated net earnings were $46.5 million in Q1 2004 compared to $54.7 million in Q1 2003. Quarterly earnings per share were $0.43 compared to $0.51 in 2003. The decrease is substantially due to lower earnings in Nova Scotia Power, reflecting increasing pension costs, depreciation expense, amortization and grants in lieu of property taxes.

"While earnings took a dip in Q1, we continue to expect a solid 2004 overall," said David Mann, Emera's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We had budgeted for these cost increases, and our fuel budget is under control, so we expect to make up the difference over the balance of the year."

Nova Scotia Power's contribution to consolidated net earnings was $38.8 million in Q1 2004, compared to $45.9 million in 2003, as a result of the cost increases referred to above. Electric revenues increased $4.3 million, or 1.7% quarter over quarter, due to colder temperatures, which resulted in record daily generation on several occasions. NSPI's fuel and purchased power costs increased by $3.5 million, partially due to the higher sales. The net proceeds from NSPI's natural gas sales were $11.6 million lower year over year, because sales prices were lower, but this was mitigated by lower solid fuel costs.

"Our ability to sell natural gas into a high priced market has sheltered NSPI's customers from the impact of significantly higher taxes and other costs for the past several years," said Mr. Mann. "Over the longer term, we need to incorporate these costs in our rate structure, and we will be addressing that in our next rate filing."

Bangor Hydro, Emera's electricity transmission and distribution utility in Maine, contributed $5.8 million to consolidated net earnings in Q1, 2004, compared to $6.9 million for the same period in 2003, primarily due to a weaker US dollar.
Consolidated cash provided by operating activities was $55.7 million in Q1, 2004, compared to $6.0 million in Q1, 2003. Q1, 2003 cash flow was reduced by an $83.7 million deposit to the Canada Revenue Agency in connection with NSPI's pre-2003 income tax case that is currently before the Supreme Court of Canada. The quarter over quarter impact was reduced by increased coal purchases in 2004, as 2003 stockpiles of local coal inventory were depleted.

Corporate Developments

In January 2004, Emera's Board of Directors increased its common dividend by $0.02 to $0.88 annually.
On April 29, 2004, Emera's Board of Directors announced that Chris Huskilson will succeed David Mann as Chief Executive Officer of Emera upon Mr. Mann's retirement in October of this year.

About Emera Inc.

Emera Inc. (EMA-TSX) is an energy and services company with 570,000 customers and $4.0 billion in assets. The core business of Emera is electricity and the company has two wholly-owned regulated electric utility subsidiaries, Nova Scotia Power Inc. and Bangor Hydro-Electric Company. Nova Scotia Power supplies over 95% of the electric generation, transmission and distribution in Nova Scotia. Bangor Hydro provides electricity transmission and distribution service to 110,000 customers in eastern Maine. It is a member of the New England Power Pool, and is interconnected with the other New England utilities to the south and with New Brunswick Power to the north. In addition Emera owns a 12.5% interest in the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, which delivers Sable natural gas to markets in Maritime Canada and the northeastern United States; Emera Energy Services which manages energy assets on behalf of third parties and provides related services; and Emera Fuels, which distributes home heating oil and related products to customers in the Maritime provinces.

Teleconference Call

Emera is holding a teleconference today at 5:00 pm Atlantic (4:00 pm Toronto/Montreal/New York; 3:00 pm Winnipeg; 1:00 pm Vancouver) to discuss the Q1 2004 financial results. Analysts and other interested parties wanting to participate in the call should dial 1-800-387-6216 (in Toronto 416-405-9328) at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. No pass code is required. The teleconference will be recorded. If you are unable to join the teleconference live, you can dial for playback toll-free at 1-800-408-3053 access code 3015346 # (available until midnight Tuesday, May 11, 2004). The teleconference will also be webcast live at www.emera.com and available for playback for one year.

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains forward looking information. Actual future results may differ materially. Additional financial and operational information is filed electronically with various securities commissions in Canada through the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR).