February 8, 1999

LEWISBURG, PA -- Citizens’ Electric Company, the electricity provider for more than 6,200 Lewisburg residents, was officially purchased by C & T Enterprises, the holding company for two local cooperatives, Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative of Wysox and Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative of Mansfield.

"We are glad to wrap up this deal," explains Eric Brouse, Citizens’ President and CEO. "This has been a great opportunity for our customers, stockholders and employees."

The acquisition means both rate stability and job security, benefits that rarely accompany acquisitions. As part of the acquisition, Citizens’ has agreed to freeze rates for almost five years, until December 31, 2003. Additionally, no Citizens’ employee will be cut because of transfer in ownership.

President and CEO of C & T Enterprises, Robert Toombs, touted the company’s current status in his speech on Monday.

"This company is a well-run local landmark," said Toombs. "I’m not planning any drastic changes here. The benefits will come by working within the group of utilities."

The acquisition has undergone the scrutiny of both the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Approvals from both agencies were received in the last several months.

The acquisition was prompted in part by the deregulation of the electric industry. Citizens’, a community pillar since 1911, feared losing local identity and control through a buy-out of a larger company. Citizens’ officials looked to the cooperatives for a better solution.

"People see cooperatives as good business," explains Brouse. "Tri-County has done this before with Wellsboro Electric, and we liked what we saw there."

C & T Enterprises, a subsidiary of Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative and Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative, was formed in 1998 to facilitate the purchase of Citizens’ Electric Company. The parent cooperatives serve a combined number of more than 30,000 members in the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania, from just west of Coudersport to as far east as New Milford. Tri-County became one of the first cooperatives in the country to purchase an investor-owned utility, when they acquired the majority of Wellsboro Electric Company common stock in 1995.