A term sheet is the foundation for a Firm Gas Sales Agreement. The term sheet includes the basic terms and conditions under which natural gas may be sold, including price, volumes and the duration of the contract.

"This is a major development in our efforts to bring natural gas to Prince Edward Island," said Minister Currie. "We are now in a position to begin to move ahead with this very important project. I am pleased at the degree of co-operation from all the companies and their willingness to work with us."

The signatories to the term sheet are the Province of Prince Edward Island, EnCana, Emera Energy and Maritime Electric. EnCana has agreed in principle to provide the natural gas from its Deep Panuke project.

Jim Lea, President and CEO of Maritime Electric, commented that, "This is an important step in our efforts to build gas-fired generation on PEI. We look forward to continuing to work with Government to secure the Island's future energy needs."

"We are pleased to have reached this agreement in principle to provide natural gas from Deep Panuke to Prince Edward Island," said Paul Gagne, Senior Vice-President of Gas Marketing, for EnCana. "While there are a number of hurdles to overcome, this agreement in principle displays EnCana's support for the expanded use of natural gas in the Maritimes."

The next step in the process will be to request Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline to undertake a detailed assessment of the costs associated with constructing a natural gas pipeline to PEI.

The signing of the Term Sheet comes on the heels of a successful meeting with the representatives from the National Energy Board. The Board's Maritime Marketing Monitoring Team was impressed with the progress that the province and it's partner had made in securing natural gas.