Media Advisory: TransCanada Commits More Than $80,000 to Local Organizations in New England Through Community Partnership Grants

BURLINGTON, VERMONT--(Marketwire - July 23, 2012) - TransCanada (TSX:TRP) (NYSE:TRP) announced today that it is contributing more than $80,000 this summer to leading non-profit organizations in Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

TransCanada's U.S. East Regional team has extended community partnership grants to exceptional local organizations that offer community services affecting positive outcomes for youth, families, the environment and more.

- In Vermont, TransCanada is partnering with the Vermont River Conservancy to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Connecticut River Paddlers' Trail. The Conservancy will use the funds to maintain and develop campsites, access points and portage trails along the river to ensure the safety of visitors, while minimizing human impact on the environment.

- Since 2006, TransCanada has supported the Connecticut River Watershed Council's annual Source to Sea Cleanup, a one-day community cleanup along the Connecticut River and its tributaries. A typical year sees about 3,000 volunteers remove 40 to 50 tons of trash from the watershed. TransCanada is once again proud to be a supporter of this year's 16^th annual clean up day.

- The Ascutney Mountain Audubon Society is another TransCanada community partner with a focus on the environment. The Society's mission is to preserve birds, other wildlife and their habitats while promoting enjoyment and appreciation of nature. Since 2000, TransCanada has supported the annual Herricks Cove Wildlife Festival, a one-day community celebration of spring organized by the Society.

- Youth are the focus of TransCanada's community partner, Youth Services. Funding will be allocated to the organization's cornerstone program, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Windham County, which provides meaningful and measurable life-changing connections between volunteer adult mentors, and children ages six to 18.

- In Rhode Island, TransCanada is supporting the Burrilville-Glocester Youth Soccer Association. More than 1,000 youth soccer players in the community use the Association's aging soccer fields, which need essential and immediate repair work completed to ensure a safe playing field.

- Youth from low-income families, developmentally disabled adults and students with specials needs are just some of the people who will benefit from TransCanada's support for the Concord Community Music School in New Hampshire. As a sponsor since 2005, TransCanada's contribution helps the school deliver approximately 500 classes at partnership sites during the school year on subjects such as percussion, chorus, musical theater and more.

William Taylor, TransCanada's senior vice-president of eastern power, says, "At TransCanada, our vision is to be a North American community infrastructure leader. We want to achieve this by helping build safe, healthy and vibrant communities where we live, work and conduct our business. We are eager to support these New England-based non-profit organizations that help build communities in a variety of ways - whether through offering mentorship opportunities to youth, encouraging environmental stewardship or serving as a community resource."

Giving back to communities has always been part of TransCanada's culture. TransCanada's Kibby Wind facility - also New England's largest wind power project - has the capacity to generate enough power to meet the needs of approximately 50,000 homes in the area. We are proud of the strong partnerships we have developed in the communities where we operate.

With more than 60 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 operates a network of natural gas pipelines that extends more than 68,500 kilometres (42,500 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 10,900 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 or check us out on Twitter @TransCanada.