Allegheny to accelerate power procurement schedule

The change will move the companyÂ’s first power auction from June 2009 to April 2009, as well as expand the amount purchased in June. The accelerated schedule is expected to benefit residential customers by taking advantage of recent declines in the market price of power.

The April auction will be the first in a series to procure power over a multi-year period for AlleghenyÂ’s Pennsylvania customers for the period beyond December 31, 2010, when generation rate caps expire. The multiple auctions are designed to protect customers against over-exposure to market conditions at any single point in time, much like a dollar cost-averaging strategy to investing.