Press Releases

Xcel Energy Becomes First Large-Scale Utility to Use Cooper Power Systems' Environment-Friendly Soy Oil in All New Transformers

Decision Eliminates Annual Need for 400,000 Gallons of Petroleum-Based Mineral Oil

WAUKESHA, WI, October 17, 2007 – Cooper Power Systems, a division of Cooper Industries, Ltd. (NYSE: CBE), today announced that Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL), a leading electricity provider to 3.3 million customers across eight western and midwestern states, will be the first large-scale utility to use Cooper Power Systems Envirotemp® FR3™ fluid in all of its new single-phase pole- and pad-mounted electrical distribution transformers starting next year.

FR3 fluid is a biodegradable, bio-based dielectric coolant that offers a number of advantages over petroleum-based mineral oil including an improved environmental profile and enhanced transformer performance.

Through the agreement, Xcel Energy annually will install as many as 15,000 new single-phase transformers filled with FR3 fluid, a revolutionary insulating product formulated from soy beans and environmentally safe additives. Single-phase transformers are those used most commonly to serve residential and small commercial buildings. By doing so, Xcel Energy will annually replace the use of more than 400,000 gallons of petroleum-based mineral oil with FR3 fluid, which, unlike mineral oil, is thoroughly biodegradable in both soil and aquatic environments and has the highest EPA classification for biodegradability.

“With this decision, Xcel Energy is delivering on its commitment to reduce the environmental impact of generating electricity,” said Mike Stoessl, Cooper Power Systems Group President. “Its customers will be able to see this commitment in action right in their own backyards.”

Today, more than 100 U.S.-based utilities, as well as utilities in many foreign countries, have made small- and large-scale commitments to switch to FR3 transformer fluid.

“We are dedicated to minimizing our impact on the environment, and because of that, we are making changes to the way we make and deliver energy to our customers,” said Dick Kelly, chairman, president, and CEO of Xcel Energy. “We’re looking at all levels of our business – large and small. While standard transformers function effectively and safely, we believe that our customers expect more. The new transformers with soy-based coolant are another important aspect of our environmental leadership.”

“We understand the environmental concerns of our customers and, accordingly, are committed to being the first large-scale utility to switch to environmentally friendly soy-based coolant in all of our new transformers. We believe this is the right thing to do for the environment, for our customers and for long-term cost management of the utility,” Kelly said.

Cooper Power Systems began the development of FR3 fluid in the early 1990s as a substitute for more flammable conventional transformer oil. In 2004, it partnered with Cargill, Inc. to produce and distribute Envirotemp FR3 in volume. Subsequent testing has proven the fluid’s characteristics also enhance transformer performance and life expectancy, while its vegetable base offers a much more environmentally desirable profile, all providing numerous cost savings opportunities for utilities.

Xcel Energy, headquartered in Minneapolis, has been committed to the environment and its customers for more than 130 years. In addition to using FR3fluid in its new transformers, Xcel Energy operates 19 hydroelectric plants in northern and western Wisconsin that generate more than 250 megawatts of clean, renewable energy. Xcel Energy is the No. 1 provider of wind energy in the nation and expects to have more than 2,500 megawatts of wind power on line by the end of 2007.

About Cooper Power Systems
Cooper Power Systems (CPS) is a subsidiary of Cooper Industries, a diversified worldwide manufacturer of products for the electrical, commercial and industrial markets. CPS is a supplier and manufacturer distribution transformers, distribution switchgear, reclosers, capacitors, protective relays, voltage regulators, automated switches, cable accessories, surge arrestors, transformer components and dielectric fluids, fuses and tools, and it provides engineering services for the electrical and industrial markets.

About Cooper Industries
Cooper Industries, Ltd. is a global manufacturer with 2006 revenues of $5.2 billion, approximately 85 percent of which are from electrical products. Incorporated in Bermuda with administrative headquarters in Houston, Cooper employs approximately 31,000 people and operates eight divisions: Cooper B-Line, Cooper Bussmann, Cooper Crouse-Hinds, Cooper Lighting, Cooper Menvier, Cooper Power Systems, Cooper Wiring Devices and Cooper Tools Group. Cooper Connection provides a common marketing and selling platform for Cooper's sales to electrical distributors. For more information, visit the website at www.cooperindustries.com.