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Emera Reports Record Q1 2008 Earnings of $69.4 million

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, April 29, 2008, (EMA-TSX): Emera Inc.’s consolidated net earnings were $69.4 million in Q1 2008, compared to $39.7 million for the same period in 2007. Earnings per share were $0.62 in Q1 2008, compared to $0.36 in the prior year.

NSPI’s earnings were $57.9 million in Q1 2008, in comparison to $26.1 million in Q1 2007. Strong earnings reflect higher than normal hydroelectric output, lower cost power purchases displacing higher cost fossil fuels, cost effective fuel switching to natural gas, and increased electric sales. The Q1 2007 results also reflect that a previous rate increase did not take effect until Q2 of 2007. NSPI’s outlook is to earn within its allowed range.

“We were pleased with our results this quarter,” said Chris Huskilson, President and CEO of Emera. “Strong earnings in our businesses give us a good start to the year. Brunswick Pipeline construction is well underway and is on target to meet a Q4 in-service date as expected and we invested $15 million in Open Hydro as part of Emera’s renewable energy strategy. As well, we’ve signed Memorandums of Understanding with National Grid in the US, and Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro here in Canada, consistent with our goal of developing transmission in the region.”

Bangor Hydro Electric contributed $5.5 million to consolidated net earnings in Q1 2008, compared to $6.9 million in Q1 2007. The decrease was primarily due to the stronger Canadian dollar.

Emera's Other operations contributed $6.0 million to net earnings in Q1 2008, compared to $6.7 million in Q1 2007. Earnings were lower in Energy Services due to reduced gas trading activity and the higher Canadian dollar. M&NP had lower earnings in the quarter due to the capitalization of certain costs in Q1 2007 which had been expensed in prior periods. These decreases were partially offset by higher energy and capacity sales and increased mark-to-market accounting gains at Bear Swamp. Absent the effect of this mark-to-market accounting gain in Bear Swamp, quarterly earnings per share would have been $0.60.

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).

Teleconference Call

The company will be hosting a teleconference at 4:00 pm Atlantic time today (3:00 pm Toronto/Montreal/New York; 2:00 pm Winnipeg; 12:00 pm Vancouver) to discuss the Q1 2008 financial results.

Analysts and other interested parties wanting to participate in the call should dial 1-888-575-8232 (in Toronto 416-406-6419) 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 (in Toronto 416-695-5800), access code 3257423# (available until midnight, Tuesday, May 13, 2008). The teleconference will also be webcast live at www.emera.com and available for playback for one year.

About Emera

Emera Inc. (EMA-TSX) is an energy and services company with $4.4 billion in assets. Electricity is Emera’s core business. The company has two wholly-owned regulated electric utility subsidiaries, Nova Scotia Power Inc. and Bangor Hydro-Electric Company, which together serve 600,000 customers. Emera also owns 19% of St. Lucia Electricity Services Limited, which serves more than 50,000 customers on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. In addition to its electric utility investments, Emera has a joint venture interest in Bear Swamp, a 600 megawatt pumped storage hydro-electric facility in northern Massachusetts; a 12.9% interest in the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline; a 7.4% interest in Open Hydro and Emera Energy Services which manages energy assets on behalf of third parties. Visit Emera on the web at www.emera.com.

For more information, please contact:

Nancy Tower, FCA
Chief Financial Officer
(902) 428-6991

Jennifer Nicholson, CA
Director Investor Relations and Strategic Development
(902) 428-6347