TORONTO, Nov. 6 -- Constellation NewEnergy has signed the City of Hamilton to a power supply contract that will shift more than 90 percent of the city's street lighting electrical load from the Regulated Price Plan (RPP) to the hourly market price. The move to wholesale prices has already reduced the city's annual electricity budget by more than $1 million and municipal authorities are now increasing their exposure for even greater savings.

"We are excited about the new partnership with the City of Hamilton," said Kelly Lorincz, vice president, Constellation NewEnergy. "Given the ongoing changes in the electricity industry, we continue to see opportunities for municipalities to evaluate their current electricity requirements and effectively make the market work for them."

"Switching the majority of our street lighting load from the RPP has been a winning strategy for us," said Geoff Lupton, the City of Hamilton's Manager of Energy Initiatives. "We've done much better on the market price than we would have on the RPP as we would be paying the higher, second-tier rate for most of our consumption. Best of all, this represents money in the pocket for the City of Hamilton taxpayer."

Constellation NewEnergy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG), is a leading competitive supplier of electricity, natural gas and energy-related services to commercial, industrial and institutional customers throughout North America. Constellation NewEnergy operates in all competitive energy markets throughout Canada and the United States, providing products that enable customers to effectively manage and control energy costs. Constellation NewEnergy's regional expertise, coupled with its national presence, provides customers with customized energy products and services while leveraging the assets of one of the strongest integrated energy companies in North America. Constellation NewEnergy, based in Baltimore, serves more than 19,000 commercial, industrial and institutional customers throughout 31 states and three Canadian provinces representing nearly 14,000 megawatts of peak load and more than 354 billion cubic feet of annual natural gas consumption.