SCG, CNG to showcase "Clean Machines" at Connecticut River Festival

Bridgeport, CT, February 11, 2002 - The Southern Connecticut Gas Company (Southern) and Connecticut Natural Gas Corporation (CNG) will showcase environmentally friendly natural gas vehicles at the Connecticut Audubon Society's 3rd Annual Connecticut River Eagle Festival. The festival will be held on Saturday and Sunday, February 16 and 17 at the town center of Essex. SCG and CNG also are sponsors of the event and providing employee volunteers to assist at various event venues.

In keeping with the environmental theme, SCG and CNG are providing mobile natural gas refueling stations which will be used to fuel a natural gas-powered tour bus that will ferry visitors to the various eagle viewing sites. Because the vehicle burns natural gas instead of gasoline, virtually no harmful emissions are released into the environment.

The first of its kind in northeastern United States, the Connecticut River Eagle Festival is a celebration of the bald eagle's migratory arrival each winter. The bald eagles traditionally fly southward from Canada and northern New England to feed on fish found in open waters of the lower Connecticut River.

The festival features a wide variety of free environmental education activities, art exhibits, book signings, and other nature-related activities developed to broaden the knowledge of visitors. Festival activities include lectures by noted environmentalists, live birds of prey presentations, guided boat and land-based eagle viewing tours, nature exhibits, nature classes for children, bird carving exhibits, Native American performances, ice carving exhibits and craft-making activities, as well as musical entertainment. Visitors attending the event can purchase nature-related artifacts from retailers and can experience horse-drawn carriage rides down Main Street.

The festival will kick-off with the "Crow's Nest" parade at 9 a.m., featuring marching bands, community groups and the environmentally friendly natural gas vehicles Representatives from SCG and CNG will also be on hand during the two-day festival to provide information about the vehicles, including the conversion process.

Editor's Note: Connecticut Natural Gas Corporation and The Southern Connecticut Gas provide natural gas energy to more than 350,000 customers in 44 Connecticut municipalities. The Companies are subsidiaries of Energy East Corporation [NYSE:EAS], a super-regional energy services and delivery company in the Northeast. Energy East is a leader in promoting competition and is committed to profitably growing its energy infrastructure. Energy East serves 2 million customers (1.4 million electricity and 600,000 natural gas) in upstate New York and New England.

Contact:
Robert Brennan
Director, Public Affairs
Connecticut Natural Gas/Southern Conn. Gas
(203) 795-7739
rbrennan@soconngas.com