Media Advisory: TransCanada: American Veterans Endorse Keystone XL Pipeline

WASHINGTON, D.C.--(Marketwire - March 4, 2011) - TransCanada Corporation (TSX:TRP) (NYSE:TRP) today added a distinguished group of 66 American veterans to a growing list of public supporters for its Keystone XL Pipeline project. In a letter to the Secretary of State, veterans from the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force called for the approval of this critical project to help ensure a secure energy future for America.

As they call on Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton to approve the Keystone XL permit, the American veterans noted that:

"Having dedicated our lives to protecting and serving this great country, we feel it is incumbent upon us to reinforce how vital the Keystone XL Pipeline is to reducing America's dependence on oil from less stable regions of the world.

"One only needs to consider the recent events unfolding in the Middle East to understand the vulnerabilities our nation faces and the need for a more domestic, secure supply of oil from a friendly and reliable trading partner such as Canada."

"As a retired captain with the Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) I understand a soldier's dedication and service to one's country," said Sean McMaster, executive vice-president, Corporate and General Counsel. "TransCanada and I are proud to be associated with these dedicated individuals who feel so strongly about strengthening energy security for their country."

McMaster added that Keystone will be a safe, modern and state-of-the art pipeline that will significantly bolster America's energy security, provide thousands of high-quality jobs for Americans and invest billions of dollars from the private sector, at no cost to American taxpayers. Keystone XL is designed to transport oil from both Canada and U.S.-based fields in Montana, North Dakota and Oklahoma.

The Keystone XL pipeline is projected to: 

• Increase the supply of safe, secure and reliable oil from Canada, a friendly neighbor,
• Spur more than $20 billion in new spending for the U.S. economy,
• Create at least 20,000 high-quality jobs during the pipeline's construction phase,
• Generate $6.5 billion in new personal income for U.S. workers and their families, and
• Stimulate more than $585 million in new state and local taxes in states along the pipeline route.

The Perryman Group of Texas conservatively estimated that the Keystone XL will add more than 250,000 permanent jobs for U.S. workers and $100 billion in annual total expenditures to the U.S. economy. Their estimates were based on the 2007 average price per barrel of oil (US $66.52).

In the letter the American veterans urge Secretary Clinton to make the Keystone XL Pipeline project a priority by approving the necessary permit as soon as possible. They concluded their letter by noting:

"A viable solution to this vexing problem stands at the ready: the Keystone XL Pipeline. The pipeline will help ensure that Americans have oil when we need it now and in the future. Canada's oil sands reserves are the second largest proven oil reserves on earth. As such, Canada can become an ever more important source of secure supplies for our nation's energy needs in the future. But this won't happen without the support of our government to facilitate the expansion of trade with Canada for this energy resource by approving the Keystone XL pipeline project."

The 66 American veterans who signed the letter to Secretary Clinton include:

• Admiral T. Joseph Lopez, US Navy (Ret.), Powellton, WV
• Lieutenant General Brett M. Dula, USAF (Ret.), Austin, TX
• Vice Admiral Diego Hernandez, US Navy (Ret.), Miami Lakes, FL
• Lieutenant General George D. Miller, USAF (Ret.) South Natick , MA
• Major General Matthew P. Caulfield, USMC (Ret.), New York, NY
• Major General Drennan A. Clark, B.S., M.S., J.D., USAF (Ret.), Reno, NV
• Major General Ken Hagemann, USAF, (Ret.), Aurora, CO
• Major General John F. Phillips, USAF (Ret.), Dallas, TX
• Major General Robert L. Sentman, US Army (Ret.), Tiffin, IA
• Major General Darwin H. Simpson, US Army (Ret.), Spartanburg, SC
• Major General Stanhope S. Spears, SC Army & Air National Guard (Ret.), Columbia, SC
• Major General Joseph L. Thompson, US Army (Ret.), St. Louis, MO 
• Major General Randall L. West, USMC (Ret.), Washington, D.C.
• Brigadier General Russell A. Eggers, US Army (Ret.), Des Moines, IA
• Brigadier General Harvey M. Haakenson, US Army (Ret.), Bismark, ND
• Brigadier General Lawrence A. Mitchell, USAF (Ret.), Mineral, VA
• Brigadier General Maurice H. Phillips, US Army (Ret.), Newton, IA
• Colonel Weldee A. Baetsch, US Army (Ret.), Bismark, ND
• Colonel William H. Ernst, USAF (Ret.), Bellevue, NE
• Colonel Michael F. Klappholz, US Army (Ret.), Cedar Rapids , IA
• Colonel Joseph A. Lackey, US Army (Ret.), Trafalgar, IN
• Colonel Keith C. Magnusson, US Army (Ret.), Bismark, ND
• Colonel Daniel R. Peterson, USAF (Ret.), Bellevue, NE
• Colonel John Taylor, USAF (Ret.), Bellevue, NE
• Colonel James W. Thomas, USAF (Ret.), Bellevue, NE
• Lieutenant Colonel Rod Burnett, USMC (Ret.), Jefferson City, MO
• Commander Jason Carter, US Navy (Ret.), Pacific, MO
• Commander Robert B. Gibbons, Jr., American Legion Department of South Carolina (Ret.)
• Lieutenant Colonel Barney Fischer, USMC (Ret.), Richards, MO
• Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Gustafson, USMC (Ret.), Cumming, IA
• Lieutenant Colonel Wendy Rogers, USAF (Ret.), Tempe, AZ
• Major Gary D. Belcher, USAF (Ret.), San Angelo, TX
• Major Harold Kunnen, USAF (Ret.), Tempe, AZ
• Captain James F. Bard, Jr., USAF (Ret.), Tempe, AZ
• Captain Favil West, USAF (Ret.), Sun City, NV
• Command Chief Master Sergeant Terry Thomas, USAF (Ret.), Royse City, TX
• Sergeant Major Paul Chevalier, USMC (Ret.), Hudson, NH
• Master Sergeant Drexel R. Biddle, USAF (Ret.), Colorado Springs, CO
• Master Sergeant Ivan Chestnutt, USAF (Ret.), San Antonio, TX
• Master Sergeant William G. Guager, USAF (Ret.), Kansas City, MO
• Master Sergeant Jerry E. Lawrence, USAF (Ret.), Bellevue, NE
• Master Sergeant Norman Siedentop, USMC (Ret.), Wilmington, NC
• Master Sergeant Maurice Taylor, US Army (Ret.), Arkansas
• Mr. Ed Auger, Veteran, US Navy, Wilsall, MT
• Mr. William K. Boe, Veteran, US Army, Gainesville, FL
• Mr. Stan Cox, Veteran, US Army, Sedalia, MO
• Mr. George Cunkelman, Veteran, US Army, Johnstown, PA
• Mr. David W. Demmy, Sr., Veteran, US Army, Dillsburg, PA
• Mr. Randall Driscoll, Veteran, US Army (Ret.), Laguna Niguel, CA
• Mr. George Edwards, Veteran, US Army, Smyrna, TN
• Mr. Roy Loflin, Veteran, US Army, Huntersville, NC
• Ms. Betty Geigla, Veteran, US Navy, Billings, MT
• Mr. Al Hacker, Veteran, US Army, Nashville, TN
• Mr. George W. Hadley, Veteran, USAF, Sun City, NV
• Mr. Donald J. Hritz, Veteran, USMC, Johnstown, PA
• Mr. Timothy John Keegan, Veteran, US Army, Miami, FL
• Mr. Keith L. Lee, Veteran, US Army, Reno, NV
• Mr. Robert Lester, Veteran, US Navy, Harrisburg, PA
• Mr. William C. McMullen, Veteran, US Army, Northern Cambria, PA
• Mr. Marcelo Mejia, Veteran, US Army, Tallahassee, FL
• Mr. Brian Nieves, Veteran, US Navy, Washington, MO
• Mr. Ron O'Connor, Veteran, US Army, Belleville, IL
• Mr. Mike Parson, Veteran, US Army, Bolivar, MO
• Mr. Michael J. Stevko, Veteran, US Navy, Chicago, IL
• Mr. Rick Stream, Veteran, US Navy, St. Louis, MO
• Mr. Jeremy Winfield, Veteran, US Navy, Chillicothe, OH

With more than 50 years' experience, TransCanada is a leader in the responsible development and reliable operation of North American energy infrastructure including natural gas and oil pipelines, power generation and gas storage facilities. TransCanada's network of wholly owned natural gas pipelines extends more than 60,000 kilometres (37,000 miles), tapping into virtually all major gas supply basins in North America. TransCanada is one of the continent's largest providers of gas storage and related services with approximately 380 billion cubic feet of storage capacity. A growing independent power producer, TransCanada owns, or has interests in, over 10,800 megawatts of power generation in Canada and the United States. TransCanada is developing one of North America's largest oil delivery systems. TransCanada's common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol TRP. For more information visit www.transcanada.com/.

To read the full letter sent to Secretary Clinton, please open this embedded link: American Veterans Endorse Keystone XL-SecClinton Letter 030411.pdf