ILA Aquila

GREEN BAY, Wis., May 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WPS Resources Corporation (NYSE:WPS) announced today that it had received verbal approval from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) to proceed with the acquisition of the Minnesota natural gas distribution operations of Aquila, Inc. (NYSE:ILA). The verbal approval will be followed in the normal process by a written "order" before the approval is final. "We are pleased to have the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission's verbal approval," said Phil Mikulsky, WPS Resources Executive Vice President - Development. "Assuming there are no surprises in the final written order, we believe we will be ready to close the transaction in a relatively short time frame." WPS Resources said that Aquila customers should continue dealing with Aquila for all products and services, including sending payments and contacting Aquila in emergency situations, for example, until the transaction is closed and transition services are finalized. Notices will be sent to customers to explain who to contact. The transaction was initially announced in September 2005. About WPS Resources Corporation: WPS Resources Corporation, based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, is a holding company with both regulated and nonregulated energy-related subsidiaries. Its wholly-owned regulated subsidiaries include Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, an electric and natural gas utility; Upper Peninsula Power Company, an electric utility; and Michigan Gas Utilities Corporation, a natural gas utility. Its wholly-owned nonregulated subsidiary is WPS Energy Services, Inc. DATASOURCE: WPS Resources Corporation CONTACT: Phil Mikulsky, Executive VP - Development, of WPS Resources Corporation, +1-920-433-1448 Web site: http://www.wpsr.com/

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