Aquila Shareholders Re-Elect Four Independent Directors; Progress in Company's Restructuring Reviewed at Annual Meeting

Business Wire, May 5, 2004

Business Editors

KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 5, 2004

Aquila, Inc. (NYSE:ILA) announced today at the company's annual meeting in Kansas City, Mo., that its shareholders re-elected four independent directors. Shareholders voted to approve:

-- Re-election of John R. Baker, retired vice chairman of the

company's board, for a one-year term. Baker serves as a member

of the board's Audit as well as Nominating and Corporate

Governance committees.

-- Re-election of Irvine O. Hockaday, Jr., retired president and

chief executive officer of Hallmark Cards, Inc., Kansas City,

Mo., for a three-year term. Hockaday serves as chairman of the

board's Compensation and Benefits Committee and serves on the

Business Process Improvement, Executive, and Nominating and

Corporate Governance committees.

-- Re-election of Heidi E. Hutter, chief executive officer and a

principal of The Black Diamond Group, LLC, New York, N.Y., for

a three-year term. Hutter serves on the board's Audit

Committee.

-- Re-election of Dr. Stanley O. Ikenberry, former president of

the American Council of Education, Washington, D.C., for a

three-year term. Ikenberry serves as chairman of the board's

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and serves on

the Compensation and Benefits Committee.

During the meeting, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard C. Green also reviewed key elements of the company's plan to restore business and financial stability as well as focus on enhancing the value of Aquila's ongoing utility business. For the past two years the company has been following a rebuilding strategy that involved exiting the merchant energy trading business and selling non-core assets, while at the same time enhancing Aquila's core, seven-state natural gas and electric utility distribution businesses. (A copy of Green's annual meeting presentation is available at www.aquila.com. Click on "Presentations & Webcasts" in the "Investor Information" section.)

Based in Kansas City, Mo., Aquila operates electricity and natural gas distribution utilities serving customers in seven U.S. states and Canada. The company also owns and operates power generation assets. More information is available at www.aquila.com.