Transalta Announces Intention to Purchase Shares

CALGARY -- TransAlta Corporation has announced it has received regulatory approval to purchase for cancellation up to three million of its common shares through a normal course issuer bid program. The shareent of TransAlta's approximately 168.5 million issued and outstanding common shares. This is coincident with the expiration of TransAlta's existing normal course issuer bid program, which terminates Feb. 20, 2001. The program will commence on Feb. 21, 2001 and will terminate Feb. 20, 2002, or when TransAlta completes the purchase of three million shares, whichever is earlier. Purchases will be made on the open market through The Toronto Stock Exchange at the market price of such shares at the time of acquisition. TransAlta may also issue put options to facilitate the purchase of common shares pursuant to the normal course issuer bid program. TransAlta will use the normal course issuer bid to offset any dilution that may occur as a result of the issuance of common shares pursuant to various employee, director and officer compensation programs. In the past 12 months, TransAlta has purchased for cancellation 1,631,200 of its common shares at an average price of $15.68 through a previously announced normal course issuer bid. TransAlta is an international electric energy company with more than $7.0 billion in assets. The company is focused on achieving strong earnings growth and enhancing its competitive edge as a low-cost operator of generation and transmission assets, and a successful developer of gas-fired independent power projects. The company is concentrating its growth in Canada, the United States, Australia and Mexico. TransAlta owns and operates more than 8,000 megawatts of generation plus significant transmission assets in Alberta.