Aquila Energy Names Leader of its Commodity Services Group

Business Wire, August 29, 2000

Business Editors

KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 29, 2000

Aquila Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of UtiliCorp United (NYSE:UCU), recently named Kevin Fox senior vice president and general manager of its Commodity Services group.

In this position he is responsible for gas and power trading and origination, as well as Aquila's carbon business center and weather derivatives business.

Fox, who joined the company in 1995, has been associated with the energy industry for nearly 15 years. Previously, Fox served Aquila as Vice President and Portfolio Manager, with overall responsibility for all aspects of electricity trading.

Fox holds undergraduate degrees from the State University of New York and master's degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Polytechnic University.

Based in Kansas City, Aquila Energy is a provider of risk management services and one of the largest wholesalers of electricity and natural gas in North America. It also provides wholesale energy services in the U.K. and in 1999 established a presence in Scandinavia, Germany and Spain. Aquila is a wholly owned subsidiary of UtiliCorp United, an international energy company with about 4.5 million customers across the U.S. and in Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia. At June 30, 2000, UtiliCorp had $8.8 billion in assets and 12-month sales of $21.4 billion.