TransCanada Selected to Develop Northern Courier Pipeline System

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - Aug. 1, 2012) - TransCanada Corporation (TSX:TRP) (NYSE:TRP) (TransCanada) is pleased to announce that it has been selected by the Fort Hills Energy Limited Partnership to design, build, own and operate the proposed Northern Courier Pipeline project. The project, with an estimated capital cost of $660 million, is a 90-kilometre pipeline system that will transport bitumen and diluent between the Fort Hills mine site and the Voyageur Upgrader located north of Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Northern Courier Pipeline is fully subscribed under long-term contract to service the Fort Hills Mine, which is jointly owned by Suncor Energy Inc, Total E&P Canada Ltd. and Teck Resources Limited and is operated by Suncor Energy Operating Inc. Northern Courier is conditional on and subject to the Fort Hills project receiving sanction by its co-owners and obtaining regulatory approval. TransCanada expects to file its initial regulatory application in late 2012, and at that time a more detailed schedule will be provided.

"We appreciate the confidence placed in us to build, own and operate the Northern Courier Pipeline," said Russ Girling, TransCanada's president and chief executive officer. "With over 60 years' experience in Alberta and North America, TransCanada is a leader in providing safe, efficient and reliable operation of energy infrastructure, while respecting the communities and environments where we operate. We look forward to providing additional solutions to meet the transportation needs of growing crude oil production in Alberta."

The Northern Courier Pipeline will complement TransCanada's extensive operating experience in Alberta. TransCanada currently operates 24,200 kilometres of natural gas pipelines across Alberta and 3,500 kilometres of crude oil pipelines through the operation of the Keystone Pipeline. Keystone has safely transported more than 280 million barrels of crude oil from Alberta to markets in the United States. This project will be operated by Northern Courier Pipeline GP Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of TransCanada.

The final pipeline route will be determined with Aboriginal and stakeholder input, as well as consideration for environmental, archaeological and cultural values, land use compatibility, safety, constructability and economics. As a member of both the world and North American Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, TransCanada is an industry leader that is committed to minimizing the impact of its operations.

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: http://www.transcanada.com/ or check us out on Twitter @TransCanada.

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION

This publication contains certain information that is forward-looking and is subject to important risks and uncertainties (such statements are usually accompanied by words such as "anticipate", "expect", "would" or other similar words). Forward-looking statements in this document are intended to provide TransCanada security holders and potential investors with information regarding TransCanada and its subsidiaries, including management's assessment of TransCanada's and its subsidiaries' future financial and operation plans and outlook. All forward-looking statements reflect TransCanada's beliefs and assumptions based on information available at the time the statements were made. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information. TransCanada undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information except as required by law. For additional information on the assumptions made, and the risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from the anticipated results, refer to TransCanada's Management's Discussion and Analysis dated February 15, 2012 under TransCanada's profile on SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com/ and other reports filed by TransCanada with Canadian securities regulators and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.