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Nova Scotia Power Updates 2005 Rate Application

June 23, 2004 (Halifax, NS): Nova Scotia Power today updated its 2005 Rate Application, currently before the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board. The update addresses the recent unfavourable Supreme Court of Canada ruling on NSPI's income tax filings for 1998 through 2002. The ruling created a $150 million tax liability for those years, which has not previously been included in power rates. NSPI is proposing the amount be recovered over the next seven years. Nova Scotia Power is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Emera Inc. (EMA-TSX).

"Our tax strategy enabled customers to avoid higher power rates from 1998 to 2002, "said Chief Operating Officer, Ralph Tedesco. "We fought hard in support of our position, and considering the potential benefit to customers, it was worth the effort. But we didn't win, and now we have to address that."
The proposal would see an average increase of 3.8 percent added to the 8.6 percent requested in Nova Scotia Power's rate filing of May 28, 2004. For most residential customers it would mean an increase of $10 to $11 a month.

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 12.9% 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.