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FIRM INSTRUMENTAL IN FIRST GAS PREPAYMENT PROJECT OF 2009

On August 19, 2009, the Central Plains Energy Project (CPEP) completed the first natural gas prepaid purchase transaction of the year by financing the prepayment of a 30-year supply of natural gas with variable rate revenue bonds in the amount of $718 million. The Firm is Counsel to CPEP and prepared agreements for the structured finance transaction. The members of CPEP taking the gas are the Metropolitan Utilities District of Omaha, Nebraska (MUD), the City of Hastings, Nebraska, d/b/a Hastings Utilities, and the Municipal Gas Utility of the City of Cedar Falls, Iowa.

In the transaction, CPEP executed a prepaid gas agreement with the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) that requires RBC to deliver approximately 6,700 MMBtu - 28,300 MMBtu per day depending on the season. The average daily quantity over the term of the contract is approximately 15,210 MMBtu per day. The Firm has been counsel to CPEP since 2006, the year of its creation under an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement under Nebraska law. In this project, the Firm was responsible for drafting the necessary purchase and sales agreements, supply contracts with CPEP's customers, and ISDA agreements, as well as the review of finance documentation.

Questions about the details of the transactions may be addressed to Jim Choukas-Bradley.