TransAlta Announces Major Maintenance Agreement for Alberta Coal Facilities

CALGARY, Alberta (Nov. 14, 2014) TransAlta Corporation announced today that it had entered into an agreement with Alstom to provide major maintenance for TransAltas Alberta coal facilities.

The agreement with Alstom relates to ten major maintenance projects over the next three years at TransAltas Keephills and Sundance plants. It also expands Alstoms current scope of work to service critical power assets, including boilers, steam turbines, generators and other plant equipment. Alstom will be accountable for providing its services on budget and on time with a guarantee on performance.

Alstom is an international industry leader and we already partner with them in other key areas of TransAltas business, said Wayne Collins, executive vice-president, Coal and Mining Operations at TransAlta. We look forward to working closely with Alstom to deliver this work program and to see the benefits materialize. 

The new arrangement is expected to deliver an average 15 per cent cost reduction per turnaround and shorter turnaround times for major maintenance work - resulting in estimated direct cost savings of $34 million over the full term of the agreement, which in turn contributes to improvement of TransAltas overall financial performance. Cost management and disciplined operations are all part of keeping Albertas electricity grid and our customers supplied with reliable cost-effective power, said Collins.

Feilim Coyle, vice-president, Thermal Services North America at Alstom, said: Alstom is proud to have been selected by TransAlta to provide maintenance planning and services for its thermal power generation fleet in central Alberta. This long-term service agreement demonstrates Alstoms capabilities to tailor equipment service activities based on the comprehensive understanding of TransAltas assets and operational requirements.

TransAlta has been providing reliable power to Albertans for over 100 years. TransAlta is Canadas largest publicly traded power generator with a diverse mix of fuel sources that include wind, hydro, natural gas and coal. Alberta is an important market for TransAlta where it has 35 facilities totaling over 5,200 MW of net generating capacity. 

Alstom is a major supplier of power generation equipment and service in Canada: 27 per cent of the power generation installed base (129 GW) is Alstom equipment. Alstom has a long history as a service provider on similar power plants in North America and around the world. Alstom was the prime contractor in TransAltas successful return to service TransAltas Sundance A power plant in 2013.

About TransAlta:
TransAlta is a power generation and wholesale marketing company focused on creating long-term shareholder value. TransAlta maintains a low-to-moderate risk profile by operating a highly contracted portfolio of assets in Canada, the United States and Australia. TransAltas focus is to efficiently operate wind, hydro, natural gas and coal facilities in order to provide customers with a reliable, low-cost source of power. For over 100 years, TransAlta has been a responsible operator and a proud contributor to the communities in which it works and lives. TransAlta has been selected by Sustainalytics as one of Canadas Top 50 Socially Responsible Companies since 2009 and is recognized globally for its leadership on sustainability and corporate responsibility standards by FTSE4Good. 

About Alstom: 
Alstom is a global leader in the world of power generation, power transmission and rail infrastructure and sets the benchmark for innovative and environmentally friendly technologies. Alstom builds the fastest train and the highest capacity automated metro in the world, provides turnkey integrated power plant solutions and associated services for a wide variety of energy sources, including hydro, nuclear, gas, coal and wind, and it offers a wide range of solutions for power transmission, with a focus on smart grids. The Group employs 93,000 people in around 100 countries. It had sales of over 20 billion and booked 21.5 billion in orders in 2013/14.

Forward-Looking Statements:
This news release contains forward looking statements, including statements regarding TransAltas expectations for cost reductions per turnaround and shorter turnaround times for major maintenance work and estimates of direct cost savings over the term of the agreement with Alstom. These statements are based on TransAlta Corporations belief (including those of its subsidiaries) and assumptions based on information available at the time the assumptions were made. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could cause such differences include: operational risks involving our facilities, including unplanned outages at such facilities; equipment failure and the ability to carry out repairs in a cost effective and timely manner including our ability to realize the cost savings expected, the effects of weather; natural disasters; reliance on key personnel; labour relations matters; changes in the market place in which the assets operate; legislative or regulatory developments; changes in commodity (including electricity) prices; and general economic conditions in the geographic areas where we operate.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect TransAltas expectations only as of the date of this news release. TransAlta disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.